


Birdtale AU: The Girl and The Raven

by HoodieGirl15



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hope, I suck at adding tags XD, Love Confessions, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, will add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-01-31 04:06:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12674085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoodieGirl15/pseuds/HoodieGirl15
Summary: "My name is Frisk. I'm a third-year student in high school. Unlike many students, I don't see my parents often because they're travelling overseas for work. I don't have many friends either. It's probably because I can't really connect with them.""When I was 15, I thought I was going to snap under all the pressure that I was under.""But then...""I met... him..."~~~When an unexpected stranger meets a troubled female teenager that he had been watching since she was nine, will she be willing to listen to him? Will she trust him as who he is, rather than what he has done?Can she trust this raven?Or will she run away from him?





	1. The Day's End

Teenager Frisk had finished her after-school activities and upon reaching home, she was about to collapse on the sofa and fall into deep sleep. High school was never claimed to be easy after all.

Frisk trudged heavy footsteps to her room as she tried to forget what had happened. Earlier that day, Kelsea and her clique of 'Popular Girls' had teased and gossiped about her outfit again, calling her style old and antique and lousy. Frisk did not think that it was too bad this time; a plain white tee, denim blue jeans, a black leather vest, black flats, a dark blue cap and a chunky sodalite bracelet was what she donned that morning. She was also pretty proud to come up with such an unique mashup.

However, apparently to the 'Pop Gs', hoodies are horrible, flats are an utter disgrace, plain tees are outrageous and her bracelet was as filthy as a pig's pen. She even heard them utter strings of curses at her when her back was turned. She remembered clenching her fists till they turned red when they snickered about her parents. How, dare, they.

Shaking her head rigorously, the fifteen-year-old rummaged through her drawers to grab a blue sweater with pink stripes and a pair of sleeping shorts to change into after her shower.

She turned on the tap, hoping that it would wash away her salty tears.

~~~

As a child, Frisk was bullied for many things too. She had watched boys ruffle her hair so badly that it became a horrendous sight to see, and pesky girls sticking out their feet to cause her food tray to spill all over her clothes. If they could, her parents would have been the ones who cooed her til she was grinning from ear to ear after such a confrontation. But as the demands of economy and workload increased, Frisk understood and accepted everything with an encouraging smile. Though underneath it she was clearly shattered.

She needed them. She wanted them to come back from their business trips as fast as they could so that she could see them again. To feel their embrace once more. They would try as hard as they could, she knew. Though it never happened.

_It may never happen, either._

Frisk yawned; she was more than tired, she was utterly exhausted. The last day of school before Autumn Break was usually like this, but recently becoming a Junior at Houston High only added fuel to the fire. Along with her studies, her shy, asocial nature had made her sit far from others at the cafeteria and even not communicate with her teammates during groups assignments.

Peer pressure, stress, social awkwardness, grades, bullies...

She sighed heavily.  _Life is hard... Too hard..._

Leaning back against her outdoor straw chair, Frisk could only be glad that her balcony had the best view of the nature reserve behind her block. When the pale moon emerged from the clouds and serene winds brushed against the park's dangling Willow branches that made rustling noises, Frisk could finally heave a contented sigh. She enjoyed nature and the good thing was, that did not change. Before long, Frisk felt her eyelids droop as she curled up in her chair and let the day's lethargy take over. 


	2. A Bad Night Saved

She felt cold. Oddly cold. Even her sweater did not help her.

_Wait. What sweater?_

She widened her eyes in shock, discovering that she was not wearing her sleeping clothes, but the exact same clothes that she wore that morning. Only that they were more...brown?

Then she felt something sticky at her fingertips. Something that reeked and smelled. Looking down, her mouth went agape as she saw what was below her,  _mud._

Raising her head, her eyes caught the sight of the nasty Kelsea Karol. Smirking at her, Frisk, the 'most disgusting girl on the planet'.

Suddenly, she felt as if billion pairs of eyes were staring at her. Turning around confirmed her thoughts. There were pitch black silhouettes of countless faceless students staring at her. Encircling her. Coming closer and closer and closer to her.

Then she felt something hit her at the back. As hard as a rock. It slid down her vest like butter, wet and gooey.

"You're such a  **loser**." The words were pelted at her just as hard the mud shot.

Then came another. "You're an  **idiot**."

Another. It came faster with brute force. "You're so freaking  **lousy**."

"Such a  **moron**."

"An absolute  **good-for-nothing**." Faster, faster, faster.

"A  **fool**." " **Ugly**." " **Fat**."  _Harder, harder, harder._

" **Disgusting**." " **Coward**." " **Cold-blooded**."

None of these words were even making any sense anymore.

" **Dumbass**." " **Imbecile**." " **Filthy**." " **Brainless**."

_Stop it,_  she begged, clutching her head.  _Stop it, it hurts! Please...!_

Mud was dripping from her hair and clothes. Her cap had been blown off her head in the sudden rain storm. Raindrops poured through her clothes as gushes of winds swept past her, giving her way too many goosebumps. Frisk shivered crazily. It was too cold.  ** _Too cold._**

And then, the pelting of mud stopped. And silence entered the valley.  _Solitude._  Too weak to move a muscle, she could only whimper a word before collapsing.

_It's so cold. So cold. I'm freezing._

_**I give up.** _

~~~

The only thing she saw when her eyelids opened, was a foggy sea of black. And then, she felt immediate warmth cover her like a blanket.

Beads of perspiration dripped down her forehead. Somehow, she did not have the strength to wipe them off.  _Too tired._  She thought, closing her eyes a little.

Luckily, a small finger did it for her. It was not hers, her finger does not have a hard surface. This made her eyes slide half-open again.  _Who the heck was that?!_

Her answer was only a whisper at her ear.

**"Good night, my little raven."**

The voice belonged to a man, sounding as smooth as silk and as sweet as honey. His tone sounded so kind and enchanting that Frisk indeed felt like going back to sleep again.

The last thing she heard before falling asleep was a loud flap, those which come from a bird's' wings as it takes off. 


	3. A Mysterious Morning

Frisk woke up to the dazzling rays of the Saturday sun, her sleeping time free from any nightmares. Before she could stretch her arms over her head, her eyes fell on a thick purple blanket draped over her small body.

Immediately, her mind reverted back to her half-asleep dream. When someone had saved her from her chilling nightmare by covering her with immediate warmth and safety, a blanket. She recalled the last words spoken to her.

_**"Good night, my little raven."** _

_'Little raven'? Did he mean her?_ Frisk closed her eyes as she slowly pondered over those words.

**"You don't have to do that, y'know. I'm right here."**

The unexpected line of dialogue startled Frisk so much that she nearly jumped out of her straw chair. She turned her head around repeatedly, trying to detect the source of the voice. Amused by her actions, the voice giggled softly, startling Frisk again. She stood up from her sleeping position, leaving the purple blanket on the chair and she walked up and down her whole balcony. The voice chuckled again.

**"Heh. Well, aren't you a curious one."**

Although she could not see where he came from, she nodded slowly.

**"Wow. I never thought that you'd be this curious to try and find me, little raven."**

The nickname struck her like lightning.  _'Little raven'_

"W-were you," she began, still walking in circles. "The one who g-gave me th-the blanket last n-night?"

**"Who else would, little raven?"**

Hearing this, Frisk heaved a relaxed sigh before smiling a little. "T-thank you." She said gratefully.

**"No problem. You were nearly chilled to the bone anyway."**

Thanks to the conversation, Frisk finally caught where the voice was coming from. Apart from the Willow trees, there was an abnormally large Oak tree on the left side of the balcony, only a few inches away. Its trunk was almost the length of a car, and Frisk could touch the still-growing branches if she tiptoed a little. How was she still such a shortie?

Anyways, she found the voice coming from a hollow hole in the trunk of the Oak tree. Before long she found herself focused on two small dots of yellow and blue within the hole.

 **"Welp. Looks like you found me."**  He flashed a wide grin with his visibly whiter teeth.

Frisk chuckled lightheartedly. "Why don't you come out?" She inquired. "It's such a nice sunny day today."

 **"Hm."**  His eyes tilted to one side.  **"Don't I recall of someone having a bad dream last night?"**

Frisk instantly frowned. Her mind was filled with the words spit on her.

_"Idiot. Loser. Fat. Ugly. Dumbass. Cold-blooded. Disgusting."_

**"Little raven?"**  His sweet voice brought Frisk back to reality.  **"Are you okay?"**

She only shook her head, her eyes focused on her toes.

**"You wanna talk about it?"**

Frisk felt awfully conflicted yet obliged to tell him everything. His voice just felt so comforting and warm that it swiftly became intimidating to ignore any word he says. Yet again, he was a stranger. Heck, Frisk did not know how he even looked like.

An idea hit her like a ton of bricks. "I'll only talk about it," she started, lifting her head to meet his pupils. "If you come out to talk with me." She finished with a sly smile.

This clearly interested the mysterious stranger, as he closed his eyes, slowly considering this deal. Frisk waited patiently for his answer, keeping the sly smile on her face.

Finally, he answered.  **"Okay. Deal."**

 **"But,"**  he added.  **"If I don't turn out like how you want me to, you're free to run away from me. Just don't tell anyone."**  His voice turned serious.  **"Ever."**

 _Why would he think of that?_  "Okay." She chirped, taking a step back to welcome her new friend.

The two white pupils disappeared from the Oak tree hole and a dark figure emerged from its darkness. Letting his legs dangle from the large branch, he wore a navy blue turtleneck underneath a black jacket with fluffy trims at the edge of its hood, black shorts, blue socks and grey slippers with three silver claws at its front. A pair of grey ski goggles with orange lenses adorned his bony forehead above his half-yellow, half-light blue irises and a wide grin was written all over his visible teeth.

But being a skeleton was not what Frisk was afraid of. She had met monsters of all kinds at school and outside out it. Meeting a walking talking skeleton was no surprise to her. What did shock her, however, were the huge black extensions on his back.

He had wings.  _Freaking_ , feathery wings. Pitch black feathers decorated his large appendages, making them look like the wings of an angel of darkness. The wings were nearly the size of the skeleton himself. Behind him, a bundle of black tail feathers swayed below the thick branch.

Frisk gasped loudly, taking in his appearance under the shadow of the Oak tree. She leaned a little over the railings of her balcony to get a closer look. His wings looked so... _magical_. And  _enchanting_ , like the night's sky. It took nearly all of Frisk's willpower to tear her eyes away from them for ten seconds before she riveted her eyes to them again.

He smirked.  **"Heh. I knew that it would shock ya, little raven."**  He amused.  **"Though,"**  he frowned.  **"I'm not too surprised. Every human would find something like these freaky to look at."**

"No, they're not," Frisk answered back immediately. "They look...beautiful." She added quickly, still in a daze.

He tilted his head before smirking again.  **"I guess I was right about you."**

Now it was Frisk's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

 **"You're way different than all the other humans."**  He noted.  **"Typical humans had ran away the minute I show my face."**  He seemed a little sad.  **"You're the first one who did not. Not to mention that you complimented them..."**

She was not sure if she caught it, but for a few seconds, the skeleton's face seemed to flush a little blue before reverting back to white. Like a blush. She decided to cast the thought aside.

"I'm Frisk." She introduced herself.

 **"I know."**  He said, grinning.

She froze upon hearing his words. "Wait, what?"

 **"Fifteen years old. Attends Houston High School. Junior class. And..."**  He added with a sly smile.  **"Assistant President of the Book Club."**

Her mouth opened so wide that you could the whites all around. "How?"

 **"Frisk, I've been, watching you for some time now."**  He explained bashfully.  **"Y'never noticed, but I've been hanging in this tree for a long time."** He patted its trunk with his left hand.

"How long?"

 **"About seven years."**  He said casually.

"Seven years?!" Frisk exclaimed, utterly bewildered.

 **"Yeah, there about. But enough 'bout me."**  He shifted a little further away from the tree trunk and a little closer to Frisk.  **"You said that you're going to talk about that nightmare of yours once I stepped out."**

She stiffened her neck. She absolutely forgot about the deal.

 **"Well?"**  The skeleton asked in anticipation.

Frisk took in a deep breath and began to tell him what she saw. 


	4. Comfort in a Monster

The mysterious stranger listened intently to Frisk's voice. As she described her awful nightmare, he could hear her voice gradually break.

He could anger boiling in him; he  _hated_  to see her like that. Vulnerable and weak. Those humans were  _absolute monsters_  to hurt her like that.  _Freaks_. To call her one, was absolutely ridiculous.

"And then, I found myself suddenly alone as the rain continued to pour." Frisk continued. "The wind was howling like a wolf. I was freezing and shaking like a leaf. I thought I would die out there. Alone. Until..." She turned to the skeleton, with thankful eyes. "You saved me."

 **"I didn't directly save ya, raven."**  He noted, scratching his head sheepishly.  **"I just thought you were cold."**

"But I was 'shaking like a leaf', right?"

 **"Well, I guess I can't say 'no' to that now, right?"**  He gave in, winking his left eye.

Frisk giggled, her laughter sounding like an angel to the monster. He felt his cheeks glow blue,  _damn_  was she adorable.

The moment passed, however, when Frisk lost her bright smile and continued to speak softly. "I think, my nightmare has to do with what happened yesterday."

**"What happened?"**

"I was picked on about my outfit. Badly. Pretty small thing, right?" She amused sadly.

It did not take him seconds to reply.  **"No."**

She looked to him, surprised. "Really? Why?"

**"Because you're already beautiful. Inside and out."**

She felt her cheeks redden at his voice. "W-what?" She murmured.

He looked away slightly, hoping that she would not see his blue face.  **"Hey, I've been watching you for nearly a decade, raven. Your heart's purer than theirs, and I can swear that you looked prettier than them."**

She blushed wildly. "You saw?"

 **"Yeah. Chunky sodalite bracelet and grey flats, right?"**  The skeleton turned back, smirking.

"R-right." She answered wobbly.

A brief moment of silence followed as a small breeze picked up the road's leaves.

Was it alright that someone stalked her twenty-four-seven? Not to mention that it was a  _monster_? Frisk knew that her parents warned her of strangers whenever they left for work and what they could do to her. She even heard of the stories in newspapers, the ones about kidnappings and scams and the like.

But this skeleton barely harmed her. Heck, he was  _encouraging_  her. _Complimenting her._  He was nothing like a threat.  _Perhaps he was even her angel._

Her heart was oddly pumping like mad. He was  _caring_ for her, at this time when  _no one_  did. His wings were so enticing that Frisk had stopped herself numerous times before she could reach out and grab them. And his eyes look so kind yet mysterious. As if he had secrets waiting to be discovered. It attracted her attention like a magnet. An incredibly strong one, too.

Something about him piqued her interest, and she was determined to find out what it was.

 **"Oh,"**  He said out of the blue, turning to look at Frisk again.  **"I never really told you my name, have I?"**

Her blush faded away as Frisk nodded.

His grin grew wider.  **"Welp. No time like the present."**  He placed his hand on his branch 'seat', incanting softly. Blue rays emerged from the thick branch, coiling it entirely to extend it nearer to her balcony. Baffled, Frisk stepped back a little.  _Magic_ , she concluded.

 **"The name's Sans."**  He extended his boney hand to the teenager.  **"Sans the skeleton."**

Awed yet intrigued, Frisk slowly stretched out her hand to shake his.

And then, the unexpected broke the ice.

_Pft.....!_

Her eyebrows furrowed instantly.  _What the heck was that...?_

 **"Heh heh heh..."**  Sans chuckled.  **"The old whoopie cushion in the hand trick."**  He explained, breaking the handshake to show the said item stuffed in his palm.  **"It's ALWAYS funny."**

Perhaps it was bewilderment or amusement, she did not know. But nevertheless, Frisk started to giggle lively, astonishing the skeleton.

 **"What? Did I manage to hit your FUNNY BONE?"**  He pulled off a bad pun that sent Frisk laughing.

**"Woah, I never thought you would laugh. People usually say that I'm not HUMERUS."**

Frisk had to cover her mouth to muffle her laughs from disturbing her neighbors.

**"Then again, I never tried it with you before, huh? Man, I guess I am a little bit of a NUMBSKULL."**

She could not breathe in between her fits of laughter. She was starting to sound hysterical.

Sans looked like he was having the time of his life. He grinned as Frisk's chortling gradually stopped, indicated by Frisk's heavy yet happy breaths.

"Hah... Hah..." She panted. "H-how can you... How could you..."

 **"Come up with bone puns?"**  He smirked.  **"Nah, don't worry about me. I ain't working myself-"**

"-down the BONE?" Frisk gleefully finished for him. Sans glanced at Frisk for a few seconds before smiling affectionately.  **"Yeah, raven. Just like that."**

Frisk had to desperately stop herself from giggling. Since when has she been doing that anyway? Regardless, she did not want to waste any more time with her new best friend.  _Best friend._

 **"Why are you staring at me like that, little raven?"**  He asked unexpectedly.

Frisk blinked twice before burying her face into her hands, flustered. Has she been staring at him? She did not even notice.

Sans chuckled lightly at Frisk's reaction. It was the little things like this that made her seem adorable. The things that made her look like a child. And keep her innocence and purity, too.

"Why do you keep calling me that, anyway?" Frisk asked back.

**"What do you mean?"**

Frisk scratched her right cheek with her small finger. "Y'know, 'little raven'. Why do you call me that?"

Sans simply shrugged.  **"You don't like it?"**

"No." She blurted out.

 **"Then you wouldn't mind me calling you that, right?"**  He playfully sneered.

Upon realising her quick choice of words, Frisk facepalmed, clearly defeated. "Y-yeah..."

Out of nowhere, he raised his head to look at the horizon.  **"I gotta go."**  He said urgently.

"What?" Frisk was confused.

 **"I can't explain now."**  He hurriedly grabbed Frisk's right hand, kissing it gently.  **"It's been a pleasure meeting you, raven. But now I have business to attend to."**  He let go of her hand and stood up on his branch, preparing himself to fly off.

Flustered, Frisk called out. "Will I see you again?!"

He turned his head to gaze into her hopeful eyes again.  **"If you really want to see me again, wait for me here at your balcony before seven 'o' clock."**  He said mysteriously before flapping his mighty wings, leaving a whirlwind of pitch black feathers behind.

Frisk's delicate, porcelain-like body could barely stand against his massive takeoff and crashed onto the balcony flooring. Her quickened breathing slowed as she watched a flying silhouette disappear into the white clouds of noon. She felt the color return to her face a few seconds after.

But her heart did not stop pounding.  _What a mysterious monster..._ she mused, walking inside.

 _But then again,_  she thought as she carefully caressed her right hand.

_He is pretty cool, for a monster._


	5. Facing Fear

**"Little raven? You there?"**

"Yep!" Frisk replied cheerfully. "Just give me a minute!"

She ran to the balcony, opened the glass-panel doors and walked out to the platform to meet her friend. Though he did not say why he wanted her there at night, she presumed that they were only going to talk and wore a pink-and-blue striped tee shirt and a brown skirt.

 **"You look really nice."**  Sans complimented with his signature smile. He was sitting on the same branch that he met Frisk. It's a surprise that it has not break yet.

Frisk blushed lightly. "Thank you."

**"Though, I'm not sure whether it'll be a good choice for where I'm taking you."**

Her heartbeat quickened.  _Was this a date?!_

"Is this a date?" She blurted out, her right eyebrow raised.

For the moment, Sans felt like pulling his hood over his head.  **"Well..."**

**"How about I let you decide it?"**

Sans suddenly reached out to Frisk, grabbing her right hand as fast as lightning. Caught off-guard, Frisk yelped in surprise as she felt Sans's left arm pull her nearer to the balcony edge.

"S-S-Sans-?!" She cried. "W-what are you doing-?!"

 **"Just trust me, raven."**  He reassured her, gently flapping his wings.

She froze the second she heard his appendages take off. "W-wait-!" She called out desperately.

Sans did not answer her, only flapping his wings harder to lift Frisk off the ground by a few inches. She was rather light, surprisingly.

Her breathing grew shallow as her grip on Sans's hand tightened. She was practically hovering higher and higher on the balcony. Beads of cold sweat dropped down her forehead like melted butter.

 **"Hold on tight."**  Sans reassured.  **"I won't let go of you."**

"D-don't!!!" She wailed in fear. "W-where are y-you even t-t-taking m-me?!"

 **"Just get on this tree."**  He said simply. It did not help Frisk at all.

"S-Sans!! I-I can't!" Tears welled up in her eyes as the balcony bars came to her hip level. "I'm scared t-that I'll fall!"

**"You won't. I can promise you that."**

The kindness in his voice still did not help her face her fear. Her  _major_   fear. Even hovering over four storeys sent goosebumps down her neck.

"I-I-I-I can't!!" Frisk was near to the verge of tears. Her now fearful brown eyes stared at the road below her, full of cars driving by at lightning-fast speed. She shut her eyes, refusing to see anything.

_"Everyone says I can't do it."_

_"They never let me."_

_"I'm all alone."_

Visions of her hardships flashed before her eyes. Being parentless. Being bullied. Pulled down. Kept down. Not given a chance. Picked on. Ridiculed. Marginalized.  _Alone._

_"I can't do this."_

_"I don't want to see myself fall again."_

_"I can't do it."_

_"I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it. I can't do it..."_

**"Yes, you can."**  His voice pierced through her thoughts just like the night before.

**"Because I believe in you."**

Frisk suddenly felt two hands clutching onto her shoulders, slowly massaging them gently. She heard his voice talking to her.

**"Frisk, you shouldn't care about what they say. Whatever they say, is not true. None of it. I can bet my life on it."**

Her eyes slid open, staring into a concerned skeleton face with half-blue-and-half-yellow irises.  _Sans._

Seeing her eyes open sent the skeleton smiling gladly, exhaling in relief.  **"I really thought you blacked out there."**  He sighed.

Taking deep breaths, Frisk inspected the area around her. Thin and thick branches decorated her field of vision, all sporting small red leaves and some with withering flowers, supposedly to bear fruit. The light wind was blowing past the leaves surrounding her and through her chocolate-brown pixie-cut hair.

"Where are we?" She inquired.

Sans chuckled.  **"We're in that tree near your apartment, Frisk."**

Her eyes widened. First, since the tree was  _way_  bigger than she thought; second, because she thought that she would not make it. "I... I thought I would..." She stuttered.

 **"Yeah..."**  He said guiltily, scratching his head.  **"About that... I'm sorry."**

"Wha-? Why?"

 **"I... Had a feeling that you would be afraid of heights."**  He explained before looking skyward.  **"But, I was kinda hoping that with my help, you could, y'know, face your fear, lil' raven."**  He finished down-heartedly, his grin dropping to a frown.  **"I guess that didn't work, huh?"**  He chuckled weakly.

She clenched her teeth, not in anger but in conflict. To many, her fear was irrational and unimportant. But to him, he cared if she was just as important as his own life.

 ** _"Because I believe in you."_  **His words reverberated in her head. He was encouraging her yet again. But this time, she did not accept it. Rather she, actually,  _ran away_  from help.

She wondered whether or not she could be his friend anymore.

 **"Welp."**  He sighed, looking to Frisk.  **"Unfortunately, there's a little more of the tree to go. Before we, y'know, hit the summit."**

She nodded confidently.  _I'm going to fix this._ She thought as she stood up, holding the trunk of the tree for support. It really was a bigger tree than she thought.

 **"No, no,"**  Sans said hastily, grabbing hold of her shoulders again.  **"I'll get you up there, okay? Just close your eyes, raven."**

She shook her head, smiling. "Let's get going." She declared, determined.

The skeleton's pupils stared at Frisk for a few seconds, admiring her confident poise and eyes. The moment passed, and instead his eyes sparked determination as well.

**"Okay. Remember, if you fall-"**

He only went that far before Frisk accidentally stepped on a broken branch, causing her to yelp and lose her balance. Sans immediately took on small flight and caught the human in his arms before she fell.

Caught in bridal-styled hands, Frisk glanced to her angel-like guardian, her face blushing a deep crimson. The skeleton also felt his cheeks glowing blue as he gazed into her enchanting eyes. He landed back on the thick branch, putting Frisk down near the trunk again.

 **"I'll be right here to catch you."**  He finished, taking small flight in the spacious tree once more.

She nodded again before taking a small step to the next,  _correct_ , branch.


	6. Who I Really Am

**"That's it!"**

**"You're doing it!"**

**"You're almost there, raven."**

Through Sans's encouragement, Frisk determinedly climbed up the enchanted tree. She fell down twice at first, but now her grip on branches had been seasoned, and she found near to no difficulty of scaling the tree.

Sans had been giving her encouraging smiles throughout her entire climb. He was more than impressed of Frisk's determination; he was proud of it. Watching her mounting the tree made butterflies flutter in his non-existent stomach.

Finally, she reached the top. Beside the tree trunk was a blanket of small branches and yellow leaves that somewhat resembled a trap door. Frisk inspected the 'trap door' in pure wonder. "What's this?" She asked.

 **"This?"**  Sans said as he landed right beside Frisk, shoulder-to-shoulder. She turned to him in anticipation.

 **"Well, try pushing it upwards."**  He said with a secretive smile.

Puzzled, Frisk placed both her hands on the patch of vegetation above her. She tried to push it upwards, but surprisingly it did not budge. Frisk desperately pushed it harder, but it would still not move an inch. "Come on, move!" She called out impatiently.

Then, she saw Sans's boney hands cover hers. Warmth pooled out of his hands, heating up her hands chilled by the autumn winds.

She peeked at the skeleton, affection written all over his face. He smiled sweetly.  **"Together. All right?"**

Someone had interpreted more than one meaning behind those words.

"Okay." Frisk replied before she felt an unexpected sense of light adrenaline assembling at her palms. Her hands were suddenly refreshed and strengthened, something she really needed after all that climbing.

And with one final push, the trapdoor opened, making Frisk squeal quietly in excitement and happiness. She slowly climbed through the hole.

Sans only smiled contentedly at her. Magic really did the trick. After she got through the trapdoor, he went through it before closing it once more.

At the top of the tree, there were a handful of thin branches sticking out of the trunk and spreading out to form a leafy floor. Yellow to red leaves dotted them, making the rather spacious summit look like a canopy. Oddly enough, there were two spots free from the sharp twigs, right next to the trunk so that it would act as a back rest.

Frisk could barely take her eyes off of the view. It was... absolutely amazing. She looked around in awe, never seeing anything like it before. The climb was worth it.

But that was not all.  **"Look up, Frisk."**  Sans instructed, pointing to the horizon.

As she turned her eyes to the sky, all she could do was gasp.

The reason why Sans wanted her at her balcony at 7pm, was because the sunset was going to appear later at 8pm.

It appeared as if it was from a painting. The yellows, reds and tangerine colours of the sky blended into the scenery like watercolours. All of it assembling and clashing against each other at the setting sun gradually dropping below the horizon.

Her eyes were stuck to the sight like glue. It looked so magical that Frisk did not want it to end.

Unfortunately, the seconds went by and soon the sun was barely visible above the faraway hills. Saddened yet satisfied, Frisk heaved a contented sigh.

 **"Y'tired yet, little raven?"**  Sans's voice echoed in her ears.

She turned around to see Sans already sitting on one of the two chair-like spots near the trunk, his wings folded behind him. His blue and yellow eyes gazed at Frisk patiently. "Yeah," She replied, stretching her arms over her head. "I am a bit tired."

Sans patted on the other spot beside him, motioning the teenager to sit next to him. Adamant at first, she obeyed and crawled over to the seat, her body conveniently still facing the horizon. It turned out that Sans was a little taller than her and that the top of her head reached his chin.

Frisk heaved another sigh as her back laid and relaxed on the tree trunk. "Do you get to see that everyday?" She asked Sans.

 **"Yeah, I do."** He answered.  **"Though, it gets pretty boring after a while."**

"How?" Frisk asked, taken aback. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen before." She mused.

**"It gets boring when no one's with me to watch it."**

Her heart instantly melted. "How long have you been, y'know, alone?" She asked hesitantly.

 **"For a long time. Too long. Even before I first saw you."**  He added, a bit of dejection in his voice.

Frisk sighed sadly after knowing her friend's unhappiness. As much as she hated being alone, she also did not like seeing others swooped down to her level.

Only staring at the final rays of the sun, her head unknowingly tilted and fell onto his shoulder. While she  _was_  tired, this was the last thing that she wanted to do.  _What the heck am I doing...?!_

His chuckle echoed in her ears, sending shivers down her spine and goosebumps all over her arms. A small, crisp Autumn breeze swept past the duo, triggering the teenager to rigorously rub her arms for heat.

Then she felt warmth envelop her, again, like a blanket. Her face blushed as she heard his voice again.  **"Cold?"**

She nodded crisply as his black jacket covered her frail arms. Sans jokingly pulled the furry hoodie over Frisk's chocolate-brown hair, causing her to jolt in surprise. She felt the fluffy edges of the hood tickle her cheeks, emitting an aroma of pine and oddly, ketchup.

Sans lightly snickered at his actions.  **"You're adorable when you're cold, you know that raven?"**

Frisk could only manage a nervous laugh. "Heh heh... Am I really that adorable though?"

Sans nodded crisply before a time of silence followed. The only sounds were the occasional Autumn winds.

The skeleton loudly cleared his throat to break the silence.  **"Y'know, Frisk..."**  He started.  **"I just... Can I, ask you something?"**

"Sure." Frisk replied, turning to him.

He took in a deep breath.  **"You're not, y'know, disturbed or mad or anything, right?"**

Her eyes blinked twice. "About what?" She asked back, clearly puzzled.

He nervously scratched the back of his skull.  **"I mean, I've been practically** ** _stalking_** **you for the past seven years. Don't you find that, you know, weird?"**

Frisk chuckled. "Clearly you haven't seen me at school yet, Sans."

**"Huh?"**

"I've spent three years of high school being an outcast and only having a handful of 'friends' that I lose in the next week." She grinned cheekily. "I'm all kinds of weird."

Upon hearing this, Sans cupped his knees to his chest and buried his head.  **"You're not weird. I am"**

"If you're telling me that I'm not weird, then I'm telling you that you're not weird either."

**"I'm pretty sure that's what everyone says right?"**

"Wait what-?"

 **"CAUSE THAT'S A DAMN LIE!!"**  The feathery wings on his back suddenly unfurled and propelled him forward with a mighty flap, away from the tree stump and from Frisk. He stood at the edge of the canopy with his back turned and clenched fists.  **"THAT'S... that's such a lie..."**  His black wings soon drooped down again.

Bewildered, Frisk asked softly. "Sans? What's wrong?"

When he did not respond, she prodded him again. "Is everything alright?"

Silence filled the canopy again.

And soon, Sans fell to his knees.

"Sans!!" She screamed, afraid to see him accidentally fall down the tree. She immediately stood up and ran towards him. She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around to meet a jarring sight.

Sans's left eye was  _glowing_ , and it was the  **only**  one she could see. Yellow and blue wisps of smoke emitted from his eye socket, along with streams of salty tears.

A bewildered gasp escaped her mouth. "Sans, your eye-!!"

Her hand hovered over his eye socket before he immediately swiped it away. Shuffling away from her, he unfurled his wings again as he prepared to take flight.

Frisk was more confused than ever. "Sans, what's going on-?!"

A snap of Sans's fingers sent Frisk teleported back to her apartment. As he continued to stare at the floor.

 **"I'm so sorry, Frisk..."**  He muttered, wiping his tears away.  **"I promise to give you an explanation once I've saved** ** _them_** **."**  With another flap of his wings, he took off to the sunset.

 **"You're going to have a lot of questions about this..."**  He sighed. " **But I don't think that's going to really matter. "**

**_"Because in the end, I still can't escape who I really am."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a very bad feeling that many people will be wondering what the heck happened back on the canopy. XD  
> Don't worry, I plan to explain it. ... Eventually. XD


	7. The Truth

It has been days. Everything felt as if the meeting with the mysterious skeleton monster did not even happen.

Frisk was still shaken and confused by what occurred back in the canopy but did not try to pry Sans about it. Though it was not like she could find him anywhere. Really, it looks as if he has disappeared.

The willow tree next to her only whistled in the wind. Where was Sans?

~~~~

"Alright, students. Please remember to complete your book reports by the end of this week. I'll see you then." After Frisk heard the last sentence from her English language teacher, she bolted out of the door like lightning. No, it was not because she did not want to hear the squabbles and gossips of other girls behind her back; it was something else.

For the whole day, Frisk felt goosebumps all over her skin, as if she was being followed. More than just followed; she felt as if she had been  _stalked_  for the entire school day. It made her feel nauseous and sick all over, and she was more than glad to finish the school day so that she would get back home and forget it.

As she walked back home, the feeling remained. It was a strange feeling as if a silhouette was lurking right behind her, yet there was nothing but the Autumn wind blowing on her back.

And the funny thing was; every time she turned around to find her stalker, she could sense him right in front of her, and yet there would be no one. This motion sent shivers down Frisk's spine constantly. Her footsteps became heavier as she tried to ignore the sensation.

When she came to her front door, she finally decided to confront the annoying stalker. Turning around, she clenched her fists in frustration. "Hey!" She hollered to what it would seem as no one. "I know you're there, so stop following me, you creep!"

**"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you're still sensitive about the whole stalking thing."**

Her eyes widened.  _That voice._  "S-Sans?" She said questioningly. "Is that you?"

Her thoughts were confirmed when she felt a tap on her shoulder. The human girl whipped her head around to meet a familiar pair of serene yet mysterious yellow-and-blue eyes. The monster's ebony black wings were folded on his back.  **"Hello again, raven."**  He said, waving a little.

"Where have you been?" She blurted out. "I haven't seen you in, like a whole month!"

 **"Yeah... I'm sorry about that,"**  He apologised, scratching his head.  **"Some things popped up at my end, so I had to leave-"**  He stopped short as soon as his eyes caught the sight of a human strolling by with a leashed dog.  **"Uh, raven?"**  He stuttered nervously.

"What, what is it?" She asked.

**"C-can we head for the t-tree to t-talk?"**

"Why? What's wrong?" Upon taking notice of Sans' stuttering, she began to worry about him.

**"Y-you know about how b-birds are often chased away by d-d-dogs...?"**

Frisk tilted her head in puzzlement before Sans pointed a bony finger at the incoming human with his walking fido. As she turned to glance at the dog, she could hear the flap of Sans' wings as he flew straight to the tree.

Bewildered yet amused, she chuckled softly and shook her head as she entered her apartment.

~~~~

"So, you're afraid of dogs?"

 **"Y-yeah..."** Sans pulled at the collar of his sweater as he sweat-dropped.  **"It's, uh, a really stupid fear to be very honest."**

"What? No, it isn't." Frisk insisted, sitting upright and leaning her back on the trunk of the tree again. "I heard that a lot of people are afraid of dogs."

**"Like who? Humans or monsters?"**

She tilted her head as she tried to remember. "Both, really. I think it's probably one of the few things that we have in common." She leant her back on the canopy seat again. "One of the only things, really..." She murmured, a frown on her face.

Sans knew that look from anywhere. The sight of those monsters bullying Frisk in school was enough to drive him mad. He could not see why they would tease about such a sweet girl like her. Then again, the world was cruel, was it not?

An idea popped into his head.  **"You know, I wasn't really afraid of dogs before, raven."**  He said, scratching his head bashfully.  **"It's only recently that they, uh, _got under my skin._ "** He finished off his pun with a playful wink.

The minute Frisk heard his old pun again, she burst into giggles, the joy of having him talk to her again overfilling her heart. The angelic sound of her laughter filled his ears and he smirked at his success. It was great to be back and to talk with Frisk again.

"Hey... Sans?" She asked after her giggles died down. "Can I ask you something?"

**"What is it, raven?"**

She twiddled her fingers, unsure. "Wh-what happened back then, a month ago? Why did you leave so abruptly?" She asked. "I mean, if it's something you don't want to talk about then it's fine!" She added quickly. "I would just be prying your own businesses anyway so-"

 **"It's okay raven,"**  He cut her off.  **"I figure, it's about time I told you anyway."**

"Tell me what?" She questioned, her eyes glistening in curiosity.

Sans took in a deep breath, pulling at the collar of his sweater again. His hands were trembling a little.  **"I-uh, have a, well, uh..."**

 **"Ah darn it,"**  He sighed, placing his left hand on his forehead.  **"I can't say it, I just don't have the guts,"**  He muttered to himself.

"I-what?" Frisk tilted her head at Sans again. "Sans, what's wrong?" Her hand approached his arm and he retracted it sharply.  **"I-I..."**  He began stuttering again, the irises in his eye sockets shrinking to the size of peas.

A small silence ensued between the both of the before he muttered something under his breath.

"What was that-?"

 **"I --- ya Frisk."**  He repeated a little too fast.

"What-? I'm sorry, I can't hear you-"

 **"I like ya Frisk!!"** He shouted, pulling his black hood over his eyes. He crossed his legs and clasped his hands together, trying to keep his wings from shivering nervously.  **"I... I think I have a crush on you, Frisk."**

Frisk was bewildered and her eyes widened at that sentence. "I-I never... Sans... You like me?"

 **"Y-yeah... I do,"**  He replied.  **"I guess, watching you grow up into, well, who you are now,"**  He bashfully grinned, his cheekbones now dusted with a pale blue hue.  **"I guess it made me fall for ya, kiddo."**  He giggled nervously.

Frisk was still baffled by Sans' confession. "I-I really never... I wouldn't-I mean..."

 **"Look, raven,"**  Sans placed a boney hand on hers.  **"I know you probably don't feel the same way to me now, and honestly, I'm okay with that."**  He smiled understandingly.  **"I mean, we just met so it is really strange for me to confess like this, I know. So maybe it's best that we just-"**

"I-I don't mind it, actually."

His pupils widened.  **"Really?"**

Her face broke into a small smile as she beamed at him. "Well, yeah! I kinda feel like, I wouldn't mind you having a crush on me, really-!" She added before giggling. "It's actually kinda, cute, to be honest."

 **"Wh-what?"**  He started stuttering again, his voice sounding flustered.  **"Y-you think I'm c-cute?"**

"Well... Yeah!" She laughed. "I mean, there are still a lot of things that I don't know about you Sans," She remarked a little nervously. "And it is true that we've only been friends for a short period of time,"

"But somehow, I feel like, I can  _trust_  you, Sans. And I mean,  _completely_  trust you." She said with confidence. "Somehow, I feel like you're that friend that I needed yet I never had before. And that if I get to know you more, I'll be able to help myself." She began to twiddle her thumbs again. "D-does that make sense?" It was her turn to smile nervously as she rubbed her nose.

He smiled at her affectionately.  **"It doesn't have to, raven. I'm, I'm really glad that you're okay with this,"**  He thanked her, squeezing her hands tightly before realizing his careless mistake and retracting them from her fingers.

"Don't worry, though," She reassured him as she tightly grabbed onto his bony fingers, preventing his escape from her grasp. "I kinda see you as an older brother or something like that, so this is fine."

 **"You, you sure about that?"**  Sans asked unsurely.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." She grinned at him before yawning. She tried her best to keep it subtle, but her attempts failed.

Sans gently kissed her on the forehead, an affectionate gesture mind you, and she giggled at the sensation.  **"You have no idea how much this means to me, kiddo,"**  He murmured.  **"Thank you,"**

"You're welcome," She replied, as she drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a PLOT TWIST! Frisk doesn't like Sans the same way that Sans likes Frisk. ^^;;;  
> Now you know why one of the tags was 'unrequited crush'. :'D


	8. Memories

Frisk woke up to the weak rays of sunlight that were attempting to peek through her eyelids. When she tried to shift in her seat, she realised that she was sitting on the straw chair on her balcony, with a familiar purple wool blanket over her slender body.

The human teenager smiled in gratitude.  _What a sweetheart,_  She thought to herself. It gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, the kind of affection that she hadn't experience ever since her parents travelled overseas for work.

She had to admit; to hear that he had a crush on her, of all humans, was a bit shocking. But at the same time, it was a good thing that she did not reject him nor did she accept him. Now, they could use the opportunity to bond and become really good friends. And then perhaps...

Frisk giggled in amusement and joy as she walked back into the house to prepare for the day. She could not wait for the end of school.

~~~~~

"What's my favourite fruit?"

**"It's gotta be... strawberries."**

"Correct," Frisk said, impressed. "How about my favourite food?"

**"Butterscotch-cinnamon pie, for sure."**

"Yep, my mum makes the best pies. How about..." Frisk tilted her head, trying to come up with something harder. "My favourite subject in school?"

 **"Hey, you wouldn't be in the book club if you didn't like literature, right?"**  Sans grinned with his eye sockets closed.

"Hm, so you do know a lot of things about me," Frisk remarked, her fingers caressing her chin. "For a while, I thought you were joking about the whole 'stalking me for seven years' thing,"

Sans chuckled.  **"Heh, I'll be honest, raven, I had nothing else to do really,"**  He admitted, placing his hands behind his head and leaning on his tree stump seat.  **"Things get a little boring when you're the only one living in a tree,"**

"Don't you have friends?" She blurted out. "I mean, you can't just be the only one with wings like this,"

 **"Nope,"**  He replied, shaking his head.  **"I'm the only one with wings like these. There's no other monster like me."**

"Oh," She realised her mistake that could have disheartened Sans and hurriedly patted his hoodie-covered head. "Sorry, I just-"

Before she could finish, Sans grabbed onto the warm hand that was petting his skull and brought it in front of him, winking at her.  **"Hey raven, you don't have to say sorry, you didn't know."**

"Still... I think you told me this before, didn't you? When was that... the first day that we met?" She said downcast, sighing as she closed her eyes. "It feels... like a really long time ago..."

Sans made no reply. He simply went over to sit down next to Frisk as she frowned to herself.

"You know, I haven't talked like this to anyone before," The human girl remarked, her eyes remaining closed.

 **"Oh?"**  Sans tilted his head.  **"What about your childhood friends? Or your parents?"**

"To be honest, I never really talk to anyone in general," Frisk stated glumly. "Too afraid of what to say, you know? And I don't want to hurt anyone."

Sans thought about this for a moment.  **"And yet you're bullied?"**

"You don't know why either, huh?" Frisk lowered her head. "I don't know why they bully me. It's definitely not because of what I say. For fun, or for laughs," She sighed in exasperation. "Or for vendetta, heck if I'll ever know-"

 **"What about your actions?"**  Sans cut in.

Frisk looked at him questioningly. "What about them?"

 **"If you keep doing good things,"**  Sans said slowly.  **"If you keep making the people around you happy, that might have sparked some incentive for those bullies to hurt you."**

Frisk was taken aback. Her eyes widened at his words. "Hurt me for what? Being nice? Being myself?"

 **"The world can be a nasty place sometimes, raven,"**  Sans said stonely, crossing his arms in his cross-legged position.  **"Believe me, I know. Some people just want to see other people suffer. They just want to see them hurt and damaged."**  The phalanges on his arms tightened.

**"And I _hate_  it. So much."**

He was replied with a small whimper that came from Frisk, who was hugging her knees to her chest and burying her head in between them. He mentally facepalmed himself; of course something like this would strike some bad memories for her.

In the hopes of reassuring her, Sans unfurled one of his ebony black wings and surrounded her with it, the feathers brushing against her right shoulder. She jumped a little at the sudden gesture but relaxed as Sans continued to speak.  **"Hey, I'm sorry if I made ya feel bad about this, Frisk."**

She raised her head a little to meet those blue and yellow eyes again. "It's not your fault," She choked out, hoping that her voice did not sound sad.

 **"You're right, it isn't,"**  Sans admitted before his face sported a determined smirk.  **"But if this says anything, don't stop doing good things."**

He did not wait for Frisk to respond before he continued.  **"Don't stop being good and doing the right things because it's what defines you. Like I said before, you're beautiful, inside and out. And if people don't like that, well,"**  He chuckled.

**"All I gotta say is that they're either really blind or they're missing out on someone really special. Either way, it's their loss, not yours."**

At the end of this passionate speech, Frisk raised her head and looked at Sans with adoration. Everything he had said was nothing but comfort to her ears. She even blushed a little when he mentioned about her being 'beautiful'. "How poetic," She mused softly. "And I thought you're just someone who likes to make puns all the time." She added with a sly smirk.

 **"Hey, I can be poetic if I want to."**  He gently talked back with a chuckle.

Frisk giggled. "Aw, that's cute."

Merely at the sound of the word 'cute', Sans' face sported a pale blue blush and his grin grew a little wider. Upon seeing this, Frisk tilted her head onto Sans' shoulder and sighed contentedly, like a kitten. This made Sans lose a bit of his cool as his shoulders tensed up and his blush deepened.

"You know just what to say, Sans," Frisk murmured.

Sans struggled to speak clearly.  **"R-r-raven... E-exactly what a-are you..."**

"I think at some point of becoming your friend, you may just make me fall for you," She cut him off with a small, flirty chuckle. "You're such a charmer."

 **"U-um... Uh..."**  Sans had pulled his hood over his head and refused to speak, or blabber, anything more.

"Tee hee! I'm just joking, buddy," She laughed as she lifted her head off of his shoulders and spared him from his constant blushing. She resumed her position of hugging her knees with a satisfied grin on her face.

Sans heaved a very heavy sigh at the very moment Frisk spared him from having more sweat drops down his skull. He shook his head and crossed his arms again, looking away, not in anger but more in... a pouty fashion.

Silence ensued between them for a small while before she spoke again. "Hey... Speaking of 'doing the right thing', it reminds me of this incident that happened to me before..."

Sans turned his head to her in interest.  **"What's that?"**

Frisk tilted her head as she recalled. "I think it was a few years back... I was walking home from school, and I saw this black bird laying on the sidewalk. I think it was unconscious."

She smiled as she recalled, the sight of her younger self walking down the side of the road with her hands on her backpack straps and looking like the sweetest girl that anyone could meet. Then her face turned grim as her younger self spotted something on the ground...

"One of its wings, I think it was its left one, was stuck at a really bad angle. I assumed that it was broken. And it wasn't just a broken wing; there were some bloodstains on its body as well. And I think its breathing was a little off too."

She remembered the sight of the bird's chest moving up and down in an irregular manner, with short pants and long breaths all mixed together. She also remembered the feelings of pity and worry that was stirred up in her.

"I wasn't too sure what to do, I mean, I was only seven years old back then. My parents were at work and it was one of those days where they would be working late, so I was home alone. It was pretty big for a bird, actually," Frisk continued, gesturing with her hands to form an invisible basketball in the air.

"But seeing that bird in such a pitiful state made me really sad. I couldn't really bare to see it like that, so I ultimately decided to bring it home."

Sans smiled at her in admiration. Who in the world could be so kind and charitable? Only her, it seemed.  **"Then what did you do?"**  He asked, clearly eager to hear more.

"Well, when I got back home, I gave it a small bath in my kitchen sink to clean off the blood stains and tried making a splint for its broken wing with some popsicle sticks and tape." The teenage girl shrugged before rubbing her head in embarrassment. "It was pretty bad for a splint, actually," She bashfully admitted, seeing her younger self struggle with the sticky medical tape that clung onto her fingers every time she tried to use it for the splint. She must have wasted a lot of tape that day.

"Once I made the splint, I tried to wake the black bird up, but..."

**"But?"**

Frisk hesitated, frowning. "It looked like it was knocked out cold, badly," She explained. "I could see that it was still breathing, but it wouldn't respond to my taps."

She sighed. "I tried so many times, again and again and again. But it just wouldn't wake up. I got scared, and... for some strange reason, I started to cry."

At this, Sans sat up suddenly, surprising Frisk. He looked at her.  **"You... cried?"**

She nodded. "Lame, right? But you can't blame a child for crying 'cause she thought that a life was lost. At least, you can't blame me for that. Even if it was an animal's life."

Sans made no response to that remark. He only lowered his eyes and asked again.  **"Then what happened? Did the bird really die?"**

Her eyes twinkled at this, fondly remembering what had happened. "No, it didn't," She replied. "More than not die, it woke up."

"After I shedded some tears for a few minutes, I could hear a small croak. I didn't think that it was coming from the bird until I saw its eyes open." She closed her eyes for a moment.

**"Frisk?"**

She sighed as she continued her story. "Simply put, it was okay. I fed the bird some bits of bread since I didn't have any seeds for it. It walked around my house for the rest of the day, and then it started looking at this willow tree for a while."

"I didn't notice how it was gazing at the tree longingly until it started to peck at my balcony window. Even though I was young, I knew it was a bad idea to send him outside while he was still healing, so I kept it away from the windows. Luckily, it was spring break then, and after hearing my story, my parents commended my kind act and even fixed my bad splint on the bird."

"After a week, my mum decided that it was time to take off the splint. Then we place it on a branch of this willow tree that it loved so much." She finished with a smile.

Sans gazed at her in admiration. He was moved by how kind she was, even when she was younger.  **"You ever saw that bird again?"**  He asked.

She shook her head. "Never did. I wonder if it's living on this tree right now?"

 **"Hm... Probably not,"**  Sans slanted his head sideways before answering.  **"I would have scared it away by now."**

Frisk laughed. It was true, Sans had said so himself; anyone would run away at the first sight of him. Though she was one of the few who did not.

 **"I'm surprised that you remember something like that from your childhood with so much detail, though,"**  Sans' remark brought her back to reality.  **"As far as I'm concerned, very few people remember when they're seven or eight. Heck, even I don't."**  He laughed.

She shrugged in response. "I don't know, the whole incident was just... unforgettable."

**"How?"**

The human girl mulled over this. "It... The black bird had these beautiful eyes." She noted. "I don't know how else to describe it, really. All I can say it that they looked enchanting and intriguing-"

**"Like mine?"**

"What?"

 **"Nothing,"**  He chuckled before continuing.  **"I don't remember seeing this happen, though. It probably happened before I found ya."**

She shrugged again. "Maybe."

The two of them said nothing else as they sat together in the canopy, watching the sun dip below the hills. Little did Frisk know that Sans was smirking widely under his hoodie.

 _Glad you still remember that incident, Raven._  He thought to himself.


	9. A Mathematical Wizard

The next few days passed by like this. Frisk would go to school in the morning, come back by the late afternoon and would finish her work as fast as she could so that she could see Sans after dinner. The weekends were similar too; she would finish all of her chores on Saturday no matter what, and spend as much time with Sans on Sunday. She repeated this routine so many times that it soon became her habit.

The human girl didn't mind that they couldn't do some things like eating at a cafe or take walks in the park without anyone staring at Sans' wings; she enjoyed his company either way. The mysterious yet intriguing skeleton was very kind and gentle, and that was what made her trust him.

Trust him enough to let him into her living room where she was doing her homework, that is. It was a late Saturday afternoon and the winds outside were getting chilly. It was with no doubt that winter was coming.

After clicking her tongue for the past few minutes, Frisk slammed her face onto the table. "That's it." She mumbled exasperatedly. "I can't math,"

 **"You can't - what?"**  Sans chuckled in amusement, glancing at the frustrated human.

"I can't do math," Frisk continued to mumble with her face on the table. "I'm a languages person, not a mathematician." She paused. "Heck, I don't even think a mathematician can do this question!"

Sans raised a non-existent eyebrow at her.  **"Woah, woah, calm down now Raven. It can't be that hard,"**  He leaned over the coffee table to take a look at what Frisk was struggling with. She seemed to be tackling with a long and complicated math equation. He studied it carefully...

"It is!" She replied in frustration, flailing her arms around for emphasis. "It's freaking differentiation and rate of change and word problems and a bunch of other stuff all mixed together. I don't even know how some people score As on tests about these kinds of obscure, abstract, pointless-"

 **"The answer's 3x to the power of 2 plus 5x, kiddo."**  The winged skeleton answered nonchalantly.  **"It's not that hard, actually,"**  He grinned.

Frisk immediately sat up. Her jaw dropped and her brown eyes blinked in response to the grinning skeleton. She could not believe that Sans could come up with an answer, or rather  _the_  answer, in such a short time. "What are you, a math wizard?" She gasped in awe and shock.

He laughed wholeheartedly.  **"Maybe,"**  He replied with a mischievous wink.

"What do you mean 'maybe'?" Frisk asked in disbelief. "You found an answer by just  _looking_  at the question! How's that even-" She stopped herself to regain her composure.

"That's awesome," She finally said, smiling.

Sans closed his eyes and smirked at the compliment, and Frisk could see a small bluish tint on his cheeks. She shook her head and she turned back to her work. "Hey, can you teach me how you did it?" She asked him shyly.

 **"Solve the equation?"**  Sans opened his right eye socket at Frisk's request.

The human girl nodded eagerly.

~~~~~

 **"And then you drop down the power by one, okay?"**  Sitting beside her, Sans pointed at her neat working as he gently taught her.  **"You need to remember to drop down the power by one every time you deal with differentiation, or it's gonna mess up everything."**  He added.  **"I checked the rest of your worksheet too, and I think you got the second and fifth question wrong. Let me help ya,"**

Frisk nodded again as she drew crisscrosses for the answer. She listened intently as Sans corrected her mistakes for the previous questions before she filed the worksheet away. "And that, covers all of my math homework for the weekend." She announced triumphantly with a sigh. "Am I ever glad." She muttered.

Sans chuckled in amusement again as he ruffled her hair playfully.  **"What's next, Raven?"**

Frisk took out the next worksheet in her homework file and placed it on the coffee table. "Science," She noted. "Biology, it seems," She added, holding the paper up for Sans to see.

Sans narrowed his eye sockets slyly at her.  **"Think you can handle it?"**

"I think I can," She replied with a smirk.

Sans grinned.  **"Good, then my work's done for the day."**  He placed his hands behind his head and leaned his back on the sofa behind him.  **"I'm gonna take a nap."**

She froze, flabbergasted by the sudden change of attitude. "You're gonna what?"

She did not get a reply as the winged skeleton beside her was long fast asleep, snoozing away. His black wings drooped next to him, lightly tickling Frisk's shoulder.

The human girl only chuckled in amusement.  _This skeleton was seriously something,_ She thought to herself.  _One minute he's solving math equations like a math wizard, the next minute he's snoozing away like a lumberjack._  She giggled to herself. _Go figure._

Her eyes gazed at his sleeping figure, observing how peaceful and serene he looked. She sighed; he was a fun and friendly person to be around and yet she felt as if there was a mysterious air around him, as if he had secrets that were waiting to be found. Either way, the past few days had been... survivable, as she could cope with the teasing and bullying at school knowing that she would come back home to meet her good friend.

She smiled, glad that she got to know Sans more and more each day she spent with him. Her eyes continued to explore the sights of his ebony black wings and for a moment, she felt a little inclined to touch them. Even if it was just for a moment. They looked so fluffy and warm...

It was then that she took a closer look at Sans' wings and spotted something out of place.  _Really_  out of place. Even though it was incredibly hard for her to make it out, she was sure that she saw something that was  _not_  black on his wings. In fact, it kind of looked... white? Or was it beige? Frisk had no clue.

Brushing it aside, she decided to turn back to the school worksheet on the coffee table and began to write.

~~~~~

"Students, please complete this assignment as soon as you can. I'm sure that none of you want it to interfere with your Arts Festival programme, so I will need it by this Thursday, is that clear? Dismissed."

Frisk packed her books and pencil case into her bag before sprinting out of the classroom and through the hallway. She could not wait to get back home; because of Sans' teaching and correcting, her assignment had scored a perfect A. Since she had some extra money, she was going to buy him a present to say thank-you. As she rushed down the hallway, she wondered what she should buy...

"Hey, where are you-WOAH!!" A sudden shout brought her back to reality as she bumped into someone. A pile of books and papers clattered to the floor like discarded peanut shells as both Frisk and the person she bumped into fell to the floor.

Frisk was horrified. She hurriedly scrambled the floor to pick up the fallen pieces of paper. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see where I was going."

"It's okay. You look like you're in a rush though, don't you have somewhere to go?" A male voice replied calmly.

"No no, don't worry, I'm in no rush at all," Frisk answered apologetically as she picked up the last few books and placed them into a pile. She stood up and returned the pile of stationery to a tall boy wearing a white sweater, a blue jacket and jeans. "I'm so sorry, again," She frowned at him.

His forest green eyes seemed to spark understanding. "That's alright. Just be careful next time, you could've gotten yourself really hurt." He noted with care and concern in his voice.

Frisk nodded. "Got it. Sorry again. I'll see you around." She bowed her head as a sign of apology before she took off for the school gate, this time at a slower pace.

The incident slowly faded from Frisk's mind as the decision of what gift she should buy for Sans returned to her train of thought. As she slowed down and started strolling down the sidewalk, she wondered what kind of gifts would Sans like.

She could always buy him a little teddy bear. Her mother always said that it was the simplest gift that could speak many words, but Frisk herself wasn't too sure whether he would appreciate it like many others. She could get him something related to nature, since he was living in a tree, perhaps a nice plant would be nice-

"Craw! Craw craw!"

The unexpected loud animal call threw Frisk off guard as she jumped at the sound of it. Her eyes darted left and right as she tried to locate where the sound came from.

"Craw craw!!"

 _There's that sound again!_  Frisk thought as she continued to look around her. The sound didn't seem like it was coming from her sides...

"Craw!!"

Finally, Frisk knew where it was coming from. She tilted her head upwards to greet a strange black bird on the branch of a maple tree. It was staring intently at Frisk, tilting its head a little.

Frisk did not know why it would call out for her, but if there was anything that attracted her like a magnet was its midnight blue eyes. They seemed like they were full of mystery and oddly enough, magic. A small autumn breeze picked up some nearby littered leaves as she continued to look at him.

And then it flapped its wings, cueing something to peek out of its feathers. Frisk had to squint a little to get a better glimpse of what it was, and she could not believe her eyes.

It was white.

"Y-you're... you're the... " She stuttered, slowly stepping back. Her mind struggled to process what she had just saw.

"You're the bird that I saved so long ago." She realised, completely awestruck.

Strangely enough, the bird nodded, as if he could understand her, and it flew away. Leaving a dumbfounded Frisk on the sidewalk who watched the black enchanting bird fly away.


	10. Gift

_It... recognised me._  She took in a deep breath. This was real.

 _It's... impossible that I look the same as when I was a kid._  She shook her head dismissively.  _How would it know that I was the one who saved it?!_

These thoughts continue to repeat in Frisk's mind as she walked back home, still bewildered and shocked of her encounter with that black bird on the sidewalk. Sure, it could have been some huge coincidence that it saw her, a mere stranger, out of nowhere and decided to stare at her for a few minutes.

But something seemed off... Frisk knew. She felt it, a strange aura in the air as she looked into its eyes. She struggled to find the right word for it, that feeling that she sensed as soon as the bird approached her. It took her long to find the word for it. It didn't feel uncanny, or mysterious, or strange, or weird...

It felt... no, it was  _ **indescribable**_.

Frisk nodded to herself. She was contented with that word because it was true. The experience was indescribable, and she had no words for it really. It wasn't every day that you would come in contact with an  _animal_  that you saved years ago.

 _Or an animal in general_ , Frisk added, since there weren't many animals on the surface with so many monsters living amongst humans.

Frisk sighed in exasperation. This whole incident has had her thinking too much about everything. She shook her head again as she entered the lift of her apartment block and went up to the fourth floor. She trudged heavy footsteps to the door of her flat and pulled out her house keys.

The human teenager entered her apartment, realising that Sans was nowhere in sight. Probably in the canopy of his willow tree.  _Perhaps that was a good thing_ , she decided. Her mind was too muddled up to say anything to him anyway.

She threw her backpack on the sofa, stretching her arms. She'd better have a good night sleep tonight, or she will be  _so_  cranky tomorrow...

~~~~~~

**"This... is for me?"**

Frisk nodded, a wide smile on her face. "To say thanks. You know, for the help in that assignment last weekend."

The blue-and-yellow eyed skeleton stared at the folded-up piece of dark fabric in his hands, blinking a few times. He seemed to be at a loss for words, noticeably because of his confused expression.

The human girl scratched her head bashfully, embarrassed of the handiwork that she had produced in a matter of a week. "I know my stitching skills aren't so good, sorry about that." Then she perked up, an idea popping in her head. "If you want, I could get a better one-"

**"I love it, raven."**

Now it was Frisk's turn to be baffled at what Sans had said. "R-really?" She stuttered, unsure.

Sans' face broke into a grateful smile, a pale blue hue dusting his cheekbones. "Yeah, it's really sweet of you to make this for me. I really like it, Frisk,"

Appalled but glad that he liked her gift, she beamed at him, watching as he unfolded the material in his hands and wrapped it around his neck, petting it gently. It was a lovely scarf that he made for her, really. A noir black and royal blue scarf really suited his blue turtleneck sweater and black jacket.

He laid his head on the backrest of the sofa and heaved a relaxed sigh, closing his eyes.  **"It's so... soft."**  He murmured to himself, though Frisk heard it anyway.

Frisk giggled at the sight of the lazy skeleton taking his usual Saturday nap and spread her paperwork out on the coffee table.  _Charming as always,_  She duly noted, as she started doing her work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short chapter. I was caught up with some work while writing this. :(


	11. A Safe Haven

"I can't believe that you would do this!"

Frisk was indignant. "I didn't do it! Honest!"

"Okay, so this shiz appeared out of nowhere, DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?!"

"Does it really matter who did it? At least they're safe now, right?"

"HAHA! Shut your mouth, you DEVIL! That's a sly way to get out of the situation, but you can take it to my grave for all I freaking care!"

The brunette's brown eyes were sparking with anger and frustration. "Why do you keep on blaming ME of all people for everything?!" She spat out to the red-haired girl standing before her. "Did you even see what happened?!"

A nasty smirk appeared on the girl's face. "No, but there  _is_  someone who can testify that you're the one who did it. Am I right, Stella?"

Silence ensued in the classroom for a minute.

"STELLA!!"

"Y-yes... Kelsea...?" A girl with an almond-shaped face and long ebony black hair stepped out of the crowd and trembled before the two quarrelling students.

The smirk on Kelsea's face grew wider as she stepped closer beside Stella. "Tell Frisky here that she was the one who locked all of my girls in the music room before lunch, ON PURPOSE may I add." Kelsea's hazel green sparkled deviously as she quietly whispered into Stella's left ear. "I'll grant you any price."

"Don't you dare call me-"

"Shut it and let her speak, dumbass!" One of the boys in class yelled at her, forcing her to keep quiet.

Of course, Frisk could not stand it. She could not stand it  _at all_. Listening to all of those lies flying out of Stella's mouth. She felt like her blood was boiling to the temperature of red-hot iron. Her fists were clenched so hard that you could see the whites around her knuckles and she could have easily lost it. If her teacher had not finally come into the classroom and broke the crowd up for class.

Poor Frisk had to hold back her tears after listening to Stella lie about the whole incident, claiming that Frisk was the one responsible for why the Popular Girls Club, Kelsea's club, was stuck in the music room before lunch. She had to endure Stella saying that the brunette locked them up because of 'vendetta'. She had to bear listening to Kelsea's flawless acting skills that won the whole class over. And now she had cope with everyone in the class who were staring daggers at her for the rest of the day.

While she was not close to Stella, she had always thought that the black-haired girl was better than that. Why was she wrong.

Frisk impatiently waited for the final school bell of the week to ring. She could not stand being in the classroom any longer, and she definitely did not want any of her classmates to interrogate her about the music room incident. It was true that the girls were all safe and unharmed, so why in  _the world_  would people want to ask her about it?

 _It's because people are cruel,_  Frisk thought to herself.  _That's why._

She did not hear Kelsea's call for her to 'settle the incident back in the classroom'. She did not hear Stella's regretful apology for what she had done. She did not bother to listen to what her classmates had to say about her.

_**She. Just. Ran. Away.** _

~~~~~~~~

Her fingers fumbled repeatedly for the correct key for her apartment door. As soon as she opened it, she slammed the door behind her quickly, almost as if there were people behind chasing after her.

A handful of heavy gasps escaped Frisk's mouth as she clasped the doorknob tightly. Why was she this afraid? Why was she acting so scared? Why was she...

 _Why am I so weak?_  Hot tears flowed down her eyes, forming two transparent lines down her cheeks. She bit her lip as she tried to wipe the never-ending stream of tears away. Her knees became wobbly as she crumbled to the floor, burying her head in her hands. Her body leaned against the door as she cried softly.

It was quiet for a while in her apartment, before a familiar voice interrupted the silence.

**"Frisk?"**

The brown-haired girl could not believe her ears. The voice sounded like it came from heaven.

She lifted her head to have her eyes meet with a pair of yellow and blue eyes. Those familiar, mysterious yet comforting eyes, the ones that were always concerned and worried for her.

Before he could say another word, she sprang and wrapped her hands around his neck, in an attempt to hug him desperately. Like a child begging for a mother's embrace. Although he was startled by Frisk's actions, Sans immediately understood the magnitude of her sadness and kneeled down to hold her in a loving embrace. It was the least that he could do to comfort her.

In Sans' arms, Frisk continued to weep sorrowfully, still unable to comprehend what had happened to her that day. At least she had Sans' company to calm her down.

She felt so thankful that she knew him.

~~~~~~~~

**"They did all of that... to you?"**

Frisk nodded, her eyes still red from crying. She was sitting on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands and Sans' black jacket on her shoulders. As she explained the situation to her skeleton friend, she occasionally took some sips of the bittersweet beverage, finding it rather surprising that Sans knew how to make one of the best cups of hot chocolate that she has ever tasted.

Meanwhile, the skeleton flicked his black-and-blue scarf behind his shoulders again.  **"They framed you, didn't they?"**  He asked her in a calm yet stern tone.

The teenager nodded again, not feeling up to it yet to talk to him after reminiscing the incident. Upon seeing her face fall into a frown, Sans clenched his fists tightly. He was absolutely flabbergasted; he could not believe that this kind of bullying happened to her. And to  _her_  of all people, an innocent person who had no intentions to do anything wrong whatsoever.

Although part of him wanted to fly out of the apartment and punish those 'freaks' that harmed Frisk, another part of him knew that Frisk's feelings were his top priority. He walked over to the sofa and sat down beside the teenager, slowly but gently taking one of her hands away from her warm mug and holding it in his.  **"I'm sorry that I couldn't help much, Raven."**  He apologised, brushing some hair away from her face so that he could see her eyes again.

Instead, Frisk shook her head with a small smile. "If it weren't for you, I'd still be crying." Her voice cracked a little, the aftermath of crying so much after the ordeal.

 **"Still,"**  Sans said sadly.  **"I hate it that I can't do anything to help you. If I could, I would do anything to help you. Anything at all."**

He hitched a surprised gasp, however, when he felt Frisk's fingers slowly curl around his, the warmth of her hand seeming to flow throughout his entire body. "You're already helping me." She said, leaning onto his chest. "I'm glad that you're here. Thank you so much, Sans."

The skeleton's cheeks instantly turned azure blue upon hearing this from the young teenager. He felt as if he had to pinch himself to somehow convince his mind that Frisk was not leaning on his chest again, though he had no skin to pinch. He felt that he was in a dream.

_Keep you cool, Sans. Keep your cool._

Instead of freaking out, the skeleton gently leaned his head onto hers and closed his eyes, sighing contentedly. His black wings slowly wrapped themselves around the both of them, almost as if they were protecting them from the cold from the snowfall outside. Man, did he feel lucky that he knew Frisk.

A small noiseless period of time passed by before Frisk started talking again. "Hey, how did you come into my house anyway?"

Upon hearing this, Sans raised his head and his face broke into a small grin.  **"I can teleport."**

"What?" Frisk widened her eyes at this. She had never heard of such an ability before.

 **"Yeah, I can teleport. Pretty cool, huh?"**  As soon as she saw Frisk perking up with curiosity, he went back to his normal jokester self.

"To where?" Frisk asked slightly more eager to know the answer. "Can you teleport everywhere?"

Sans laughed.  **"Nope, only places that I've been to before."**  He winked as he added.  **"And considering that I am a lazy bag of bones, there are very few places that I've been to before, heh heh."**

The small smile on Frisk's face grew wider as she recognised the pun in his words. Though she was not in the best mood for a boisterous laugh, she did manage to giggle a little.

Then an idea hit her. "... Can you take me away somewhere?"

**"What?"**

"Take me far away. To some place that you've been to before." Frisk requested, looking at Sans with a determined expression on her face. "I don't really want to stay here, not when I still remember what happened today."

Sans felt a little bit worried; in the past, he would teleport himself to different places whenever he needed to, but he had not been using it as frequently anymore since he started using his raven wings to fly to different places. Moreover, he had never teleported two people at once before...

The skeleton felt like he was at a crossroad. On one hand, he wanted to see Frisk happy, and if she wanted to go somewhere else then he was more than glad to grant her wish. But on the other hand, he was really worried.  **"I'm not too sure I can bring you back on time you know, Raven."**  He said, his voice laced with concern.

"Please?" The teenager begged, giving him a puppy-eyed look. "At least for one day?"

Sans felt his face turn blue. Now how could he ignore those eyes of hers?

**"... Okay. Just one day."**


	12. Crystal Stars

"Japan?"

**"Never been there."**

"Athens?"

**"Hah, sorry, nope."**

Frisk was trying her hardest to suggest places that were close to her hometown. "How about... Paris?"

At this, Sans closed his eyes and rubbed his chin with his left hand, appearing as if he was deep in thought. As the teenager saw movement, she waited anxiously, anticipating for an answer other than just 'no'.

**"If you were trying to be a little romantic with me on that last one, then I should applaud you."**

So much for getting an answer other than 'no'. "Sans, I'm serious."

 **"I know that,** ** _serious_** **."**  Sans playfully replied back with a cheeky wink.  **"Also, I haven't been there either. Sorry."**

Frisk's heart sunk at those words, a downcast expression forming on her face.

 **"I'm not helping much, am I?"**  Sans noted worriedly, starting to feel disappointed in himself. Of all the times that he had a lazy bone and not explore the world as he should. He was practically  _free_ , after all.

Surprisingly, Frisk shook her head. "It's okay, Sans. Really. I should be the one apologising for the inconvenience." She let out a small sigh before smiling meekly.

Mixed emotions filled Sans' heart. He was moved that she was so understanding of him, and he was impressed and so proud that she could still smile after what happened. He could also feel an avalanche of affection and love for her in his soul. She was so amazing, so pure, so  _beautiful_.

Yet he could not deny that a small fraction of his soul was burning with the desire to fly out of the apartment and beat that _damn beast_  that dared to lay a hand on  _his Frisk_  till she was begging, no,  _screaming_  for mercy.

He sighed heavily to brush the thought aside. The skeleton glanced at the nearby clock on the wall. It was almost four. Not a good time.

Instead, Sans placed a bony hand on Frisk's shoulder.  **"Could you... maybe describe where you want to go? Is there something you want to see? Something you want to do?"**

Frisk closed her eyes, deep in thought. Her mind was blank out of ideas after suggesting so many places to Sans, but she tried her best to think you of adjective instead of landmark names. There had to be something in that head of hers if she liked to read so much.

And then a word came to her mind:  _quiet_.

Soon another joined in,  _peaceful_.

And another,  _serene_.

In her mind, she subconsciously thought back to a memory from the past, one that she and her parents were both in. When she was a mere child and was watching different television programs with her parents after dinner.

"What's that?" A ten-year-old Frisk had pointed to a highway of water pouring past a bed of rocks and down a tall cliff.

Her mother had smiled at her warmly and replied. "It's a waterfall."

The young girl tilted her head. "A 'waterfall'? Why is it called a waterfall?"

Her mother was about to go into details before her father chuckled and spoke. "It's because the water falls from the cliff and into rivers and lakes."

"Oh!!" Frisk giggled, amazed by what her father had said to her. Perhaps it was her innocence that made her easily believe in that, but... "One day, I want to go see water falling at the waterfall!"

"Waterfall." The teenage girl whispered, now back to reality.

**"What?"**

Frisk opened her eyes again and turned to Sans who was waiting anxiously for an answer from her. "I... want to see a waterfall."

The skeleton tilted his head like a little bird.  **"You've never seen a waterfall before?"**

"No, I haven't," Frisk replied. "I only saw it on the television before, but my parents have never brought me out to see any waterfall before. Not until they started travelling, anyway..." Her face fell.

 _Oh no! Not again! No, not again!_  Sans couldn't bare to see Frisk frown for the fourth time that day. By instinct, he reached out his hands to cup her cheeks and gently force her to look at him. His mystical eyes looked enchanting in the light of the setting sun that was coming through the balcony window.

Frisk was already appalled enough that Sans suddenly grasped onto her cheeks like that, but nothing could compare to the surprise she had when he opened his mouth.  **"You're in luck. I know just the place."**

Then an aura of blue magic started to radiate around the winged skeleton. Frisk could feel the waves of his magic brush against her skin as he prepared to teleport the both of them.

 **"Oh yeah, it looks the best at night, too."**  He winked before the both of them disappeared from the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Woah!!" A strange feeling welled up in Frisk's stomach as her bare feet suddenly stepped on something wet. She breathed in short breaths of air as she held her hands out to balance herself. Never did she think that teleportation would give her motion sickness.

Sans, on the other hand, was perfectly fine and even flapping his black wings while in mid-air flight.  **"You okay there Raven?"**  He chuckled.

Frisk gulped a little. "You never told me that teleportation could make you feel uneasy..."

 **"Heh heh, well at least it was kinda worth it,"**  Sans said triumphantly before turning to his left.

"What are you-"

**"Look."**

Frisk had no time to react before Sans gently grabbed Frisk's chin and pulled it to her left. At first, the teenage girl was too upset for words.

But after seeing the sight before her, she realised that she was too baffled for words.

A cacophony of colours greeted her as the colours bounced off water droplets. The water that poured past dark green plants and down the cliff created a white cloud of mist that floated above the lake's surface. There were bright lights of cyan, violet and magenta reflecting throughout some cobalt rocky walls. Frisk soon realised that she was in a cave that seemed to go for miles on her left and right.

More importantly, the spectacle before her was the most magical waterfall she had ever seen. Multi-coloured lights decorating her field of sight and the loud yet somehow melodious sound of water crashing into the lake.

Frisk had no words, her mouth only hanging agape as she continued to take in the magnificent sight.

 **"Pretty, isn't it?"**  Sans asked suddenly, stepping down next to Frisk.  **"Someone brought me to this place before and apparently, it isn't on the surface. It's under that weird mountain called Mount Ebott. No one's ever been down here for years."**

"Really?" Frisk asked absentmindedly, still amazed by the dazzling lights.

Sans nodded, pointing to parts of the ceiling.  **"Those crystals up there, they're the ones responsible for the lights on the lake. I heard that when the monsters were stuck in the Underground a millennium ago, they wished on those crystals like they were stars."**  He chuckled.  **"Heh, now they don't since they're all on the surface."**

At that moment, Frisk sharply gasped, cueing Sans to turn to her and watch her blink and close her eyes suddenly. She clasped her hands together into a fist and raised it to her chest.

This puzzled Sans.  **"Raven, what are you doing?"**

Frisk did not reply for a while before she spoke. "No one does it anymore, but that doesn't mean that I can't do it."

**"Do what?"**

She giggled softly. "Make a wish on a crystal star."

Then she opened her eyes and started shouting into the cave. "I wish that Sans and I will be best friends forever!!"

This made Sans' cheeks flush blue as soon as he heard those words.  _Did I just hear that right...?_  To him, it sounded like Frisk wanted to know him more and stay with him 'forever'.  **"F-F-Frisk..."**

"Hehe!" Frisk grinned widely at Sans, who was blue-faced by now. "I don't mean to make you blush, but... that's what I've been thinking."

Her voice softened. "We'll always be best friends, right Sans?"

Best friends...

Not exactly love.

But...

 **"Of course,"**  Sans smiled at her.  **"We'll always be best friends. No matter what happens, you know that I'll always be here for ya, Raven. That will never change. Ever."**  He looked at her with a determined face.

**"I promise."**

Seeing Frisk smile so brightly was worth a million bucks to Sans. After she smiled, Frisk immediately tackled Sans with a hug. "Thank you, Sans!"

Sans laughed wholeheartedly, but that was way before Frisk planted a small kiss on his cheekbone.

It felt like a single electric shock coursing throughout his whole body. Fizzy, bubbly, only lasting less than ten seconds... He could feel his knees getting all wobbly and even his wings dropped flat to the waterfall floor. His blue and yellow irises in his eye sockets were frozen in their shocked, surprised and baffled expressions.

Meanwhile, Frisk was grinning from ear to ear again. She giggled. Her voice sounded like an angel's more than anything else right now.

"You look so cute when you blush, Sans," Frisk remarked quietly. Though Sans must have heard her anyway.

Because before she knew it, she felt a familiar strange feeling her stomach and found her hovering right above the lake in the blink of an eye. Sans was out of her arms, and soon enough, she fell into the lake with a loud splash.

It didn't take long for her to surface and find Sans still standing on land. "Hey!! Sans!! You're lucky that I can swim!!" She hollered to him angrily, though she was smiling.

 **"Are you happy or angry that I did that, Raven?"**  Sans teased.

"W-what?! What are you talking about, I'm neither!!" She retorted, starting to laugh again.

**"Did I forget to mention that there are monsters in that lake?"**

Her heart dropped and she started to flail her arms helplessly. "What?! Really?!"

**"No."**

"Urghhh!!!! Sans!!!"

Sans was laughing boisterously the minute Frisk made her way to shore. "Do you have anything say for yourself?" She groaned, blowing the hair over her eyes as her hands gripped onto land.

 **"Only one; I can't believe you fell for that!!"**  He chortled.

Wait... 'fell'... An idea took shape inside of the teenage girl's mind.

Springing out of the lake suddenly, Frisk grabbed ahold of Sans' black jacket and pulled him into the water.  **"Woah!!"**

"I guess you 'fell' for that too!" Frisk giggled.

Upon hearing the pun, Sans smirked.  **"Oh, it is** ** _on_** **!!"**

For the rest of the evening, the cave walls echoed joyous laughter and the sound of water splashes.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Slowly, Sans pulled a purple blanket over Frisk's delicate body that was sleeping soundly on the sofa. He did not dare to go into her room yet, mostly to not invade the privacy of her room. After they had splashed each other multiple times in the lake, the both of them strolled around the waterfall cave and admired the crystals stuck in the rocky ceiling. They even found an abandoned telescope that had red paint smeared on its eyepiece. The red paint created a large dot on Frisk's right eye to Sans' amusement.

As he brushed his fingers across her mostly dry hair, Sans thought back to what Frisk said at the waterfall.

_"We'll always be best friends forever, right Sans?"_

**"Of course we will,"**  Sans confirmed it again, though Frisk couldn't hear it.  **"And then,"**  He muttered.  **"Maybe we can be..."**

**"Something more."**

The skeleton then stood up and began walking to the balcony, ready to retreat back to the willow tree to get some proper rest. Teleporting two people at once over a long distance had worn him out. He needed to sleep or else he wouldn't be able to use any kind of magic tomorrow. Though he could still fly, at least.

That was when he heard the sound of paper moving across the floor. The sound was quiet but Sans could hear it from a mile away. It sounded like it came from the door.

And then he heard footsteps that slowly faded away.

 _Was Frisk having a visitors?_  To make sure of this, Sans approached the entrance of the apartment cautiously, looking out for any shadows underneath the door.

Except, what he found was a piece of paper with its back side facing up. Sans bent down to pick it up and turn it over to the other side.

He could not believe what he was reading.

He just couldn't. Who would write this? No one would ever-

No... Of course  _they_  would try to hurt her this way. They would.

And they could do even worse, Sans realised in horror. It took less than a minute for Sans to realise that Frisk was no longer safe alone in her apartment, considering that they could send this... 'warning' to her.

His anger was boiling. He could not stand to see Frisk hurt. He could not believe that anyone would try to destroy that beautiful smile of hers. He refused to see it happened.

He wanted to stop it. He wanted to stop all of it from happening. At that moment of time, he realised that he only wanted to see Frisk happy. He never wanted to see her cry so helplessly like how she did today. He  _wasn't_  going to see that again.

And then, he lost it.  _Not if I can help it._

He crushed the offensive letter in his hand, allowing some blue flames to burn it into ashes.

_Just like your 'message', you are going to burn in hell, you demon._

The yellow and blue lights in his eye sockets began to glow brightly, fueled by hatred and anger.   _And an emotion that he had never experienced before. A strong desire to protect Frisk forever._

_Once I'm done with you, you're never hurting_ **_my_ ** _Frisk ever again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mental note: whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE RAVEN SANS MAD.  
> He's gonna give some people a bad time~ ^^;;


	13. Unexpected

_"No fair! You cheated!"_

**_"So you say, raven, when you're the one who dragged me into the water."_ **

_"Heh, take this!"_

Her eyelids fluttered open as Frisk woke up from her pleasant dream, rays of sunlight shining on her coffee table in the living room. As she shuffled on the sofa, she noticed the ever iconic purple blanket covering her body.

She chuckled.  _What a sweet skeleton_ , she remarked to herself. In fact, she realised, he was more than a sweet skeleton. If he was willing enough to cheer her up after getting bullied yesterday, then that would make him a gentleman. Although the little things that he did, splashing water at her and making her giggle, kind of suggested that he was a child.

She chuckled again at his cuteness and prepared for school.

~~~~~~

Even though she slept late last night, Frisk was not late for school. It was a habit of hers to get out of the house within fifteen minutes everyday for school. She got it from her mother and frankly, she likes it.

Something strange happened today. As much as the brunette did not want to admit it, she did not see Kelsea in class at all.

Neither did she hear anything from her 'goons'. Or anyone really. It had seemed that no one remembered the argument she had with Kelsea the day before, as if the whole incident never even happened.

As odd and unusual as it was, Frisk didn't care. After all, it was one of those rare occasions where no one would judge her for doing whatever she wanted, especially since Kelsea wasn't around to taunt or tease her.

And it felt good.

~~~~~~

**"So how was school today?"**

The teenager grinned at the winged skeleton lounging on the sofa. "Good," She remarked. "Goody good," She added.

He smiled in amusement.  **"And why's that?"**

She walked over to the sofa and sat beside him, shrugging. "Oh, I don't know," She began. "Maybe it's because someone is not in school giving me a bad time,"

 **"Oh?"** He narrowed his eyes at this.  **"Can I take a guess?"**

"Sure," She agreed cheerily. "Hold on, I'm going to get a drink. Do you want anything?"

The skeleton shook his head politely as Frisk stood up and walked into the kitchen. As she poured herself a glass of cold water, Sans stretched himself and snuggled on the sofa like a kitten. His eye sockets were closed when Frisk returned.

"Look at you getting so comfortable," Frisk giggled. "Do you plan to take over my sofa?" She joked.

He opened one of his eyes mystically.  **"Maybe?"**

She chuckled. "Guess who wasn't in school at the first try and maybe I'll let you." She told him.

 **"Alright, lemme guess,"**  Sans closed his eyes in deep thought. **"Was it Kelsea?"**

She gasped in surprised. Up till now, she was in a comedic and joking mood, but now she was just shocked. "How did you know?"

 **"I know a lot of things, raven~"** He answered with a mysterious grin.

Frisk rolled her eyes, though she was still smiling. Exactly how many secrets did this skeleton monster have? She would never know.

"You know, it's kinda weird." She looked at the floor and sighed.

 **"What is?"**  He asked her, shifting to one side of the sofa to let the brunette sit down.

She placed her glass on the coffee table and sat down. "I don't know. I guess, without Kelsea at school, I kinda feel... Like I have no restraints on me."

Sans turned to her.  **"Really."**  It doesn't sound like a question. In fact, it sounds like he was expecting it.

Fortunately, she did not notice it. "Yeah, I feel...  _alive_ , almost." She let out a small laugh that made Sans' heart melt.

He smiled at her. Now this was what he wanted to see. A happy, laughing Frisk. In his mind, he congratulated himself for a 'job well done'.

Then out of nowhere, he felt a surge of pain in his body. Like a throbbing ache in every bone. He involuntarily groaned at the sudden occurrence.

Upon hearing his groan, Frisk turned to the skeleton. "What was that?"

 **"N-nothing,"**  He hastily responded.  **"Nothing at all, Raven,"**

Although she sensed that something was amiss, she shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then,"

 ** _It's all for her,_** He reminded himself.

**_All for her._ **


	14. Something's Off

**_Ignore it…_ **

Fidgeting fingers were not enough to distract him from the pressing matter.

 ** _It’s nothing bad, no need to panic… Breathe… BREATHE._**  

**_… Ignore it, dammit!!_ **

Disobeying his own thoughts, his hands flew to the are of discomfort, gripping his head as he was plagued by another ear-splitting headache. It had been that way for the past couple days, an evident sign of brutal karma.

The winged skeleton had taken measures to these spells when her was around Frisk, always retreating to the willow tree whenever his magic got restless, like a lion trying to get out of its cage. Of course, to spend more time with his Frisk, he would use healing magic to alleviate the pain, but it wasn’t always effective. Thankfully, she never questioned why he would sometimes disappear, a true blessing in disguise.

If Sans was a human, he’d be biting his lower lip constantly.

**_I should have been more careful back then. I used too much magic…_ **

**_Now, it’s trying to take over me._ **

“Sans? Are you out here?”

At the sound of her voice and her footsteps on the balcony, he felt his heart lighten a little. What else could he do? Her voice was like gospel to him, like a healing touch to his soul.

Sans tried to crawl over to the edge of the canopy, but his limbs felt heavy, like cinder blocks were tied to his ankles. _So much for flying to her balcony._ **“I’m here, kiddo,”** He called out for her, despite the constant pain in his head.

Frisk hitched a gasp; to her, his voice sounded ragged and hoarse, as if he was sick. “Are you okay?” She asked in concern. “You, um, haven’t been coming into my house for a while, are you sick?"

 **_“Breathe, Sans, breathe…”_ ** He chanted to himself as he tried to hide his pain. **“I’m fine, raven. Just a little tired,”**

“‘Just a little tired’? Sans, you’ve been in the canopy for days!” Not convinced, the teenager crossed her arms. “Can you even fly to the balcony?" 

 **_Hell no,_ ** was what Sans would have said to her, with the addition of a tone full of discomfort. But he dared not to. Heck, he didn’t want to say anything; every word he uttered would make his throat hurt more. Was he really sick? He could not remember the last time he fell ill…

Impatient for an answer, Frisk puffed a bit, slowly approaching the railings and looking down below. Her heart leaped at the sight of tiny bushes, fences and the pathway below her that seemed to go for miles. Then again, as she continued to stare at the sight below her, it didn’t look as scary as before, though her heart was still pumping wildly.

She took a deep breath. If this guy wasn’t going to cooperate, she would have to take matters into her own hands.

“If you’re not gonna come down, Sans, I’m gonna have to find my way to you instead,” She declared as her autumn jacket slid down her shoulders, her voice full of determination. After tossing the jacket to the sofa in the living room, Frisk pulled a nearby straw chair to the edge of the balcony, constantly taking deep breaths to calm her ferocious heart. Luckily for her, the air wasn’t too chilly; the lilac sweater she wore underneath her autumn jacket was enough to keep her warm.

Not wasting another second, Frisk climbed onto the straw chair, biting her lower lip. _Keep it together, Frisk,_ She repeated in her head.

Gradually, she rose to a standing position on the chair, facing the willow tree where Sans was ‘hiding’. To her left, was a thick tree branch where Sans had first met Frisk, using his magic to make the branch grow till it was within Frisk’s reach. That felt like a good place to start climbing.

 _Don’t look down,_ she told herself, closing her eyes as she took in another deep breath. As she opened her eyes again, she focused on the tree branch within her reach. It seemed like she needed to jump a little to reach the thicker portion of the branch, which was closer to the tree. _Time for the leap of faith._ She squatted down.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, but her determination would not back down.

_Here goes everything… !!_

She leaped off the straw chair, her hands outstretched to the branch. As soon as her hands felt the intricate texture on the branch, her breathing quickened, her legs dangling in the air. Panting, she sneaked a small peek at the sight below, and instantly regretted it.

She felt as if her heart would pop out of her chest. “Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best idea…” She muttered to herself, adrenaline pulsing in her veins. Grunting, Frisk tightened her grip on the tree branch, but was met with a terrible surprise.

In her ears echoed the sound of the branch slowly cracking.

Her eyes widened in horror, her mouth agape and wide open. _No!_ She screamed in her head. Her hands scrambled about, hoping to reach for another nearby branch for safety, but there was none in sight. In her mind, she was praying so very hard for the branch not to break

But her efforts were to no avail.

As soon as the branch fell apart from the tree, Frisk could feel herself plummeting to the ground, gravity taking its course on her porcelain-like body. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her heart was buried deep in her throat, leaving her breathless. Frisk watched as the leaves on the willow tree started to shrink in her field of vision. She could almost see her life flash before her eyes when she saw something else.

Albeit it was for a moment, she swore that she could see a blur of black in the sky.

And then, as she shut her eyes and anticipated the pain of crashing to the pavement, the crash never came. It was as if time had stopped completely.

Instead, she found herself completely unharmed. Nowhere near the pavement, and suddenly surrounded by warmth, and a strangely familiar scent of pine cone and ketchup.

And what was that sound in her ears? The flapping a bird’s wings?

_Wait, a bird’s wings…?_

Only now did Frisk open her chocolate brown eyes and found herself face to face with a familiar pale face of bone and a pair of blue and yellow eyes that shone with shock, fear and worry all at once.

Then, he broke the silence. **“What the hell was that for?!”** He nearly screamed at the girl in his arms. **“You could have died, why did you do that?!”**

When she did not reply, her eyes still in a daze from the near-death experience and her chest rising from her constant breathing, the skeleton clenched his teeth hard, and whether it was in the fear of losing her, or to hide his pain, was unknown. **“Don’t you ever do that again, do you hear me?!”** He continued. **“Please, Frisk-"**

“What’s that?” She whispered softly, soft enough for only Sans to hear.

He was taken aback. “W-what?”

She apprehensively reached her hand out to his face, stroking it hesitantly but gently. “These scars… where did they come from?”

Her small fingers slowly approached two scars on his face, one which drew a line from his left eye down his cheek, and another that extended above his right eye toward his forehead, obscured by his ski goggles.

Sans was speechless, mostly for two reasons. One, he refused to explain to Frisk about those scars and two, with Frisk this close to his face, he was resisting the urge to just lean in and give her a kiss on the lips…

By some stroke of luck, his weakened body did not give him the chance to do anything, soon allowing gravity pull him down. The skeleton grunted as sweatdrops dribbled down his temples, his arms starting to feel a little numb. **_Dammit, not those spells again…_ **

“Eep!” Regaining her voice again, she wrapped her hands around his neck as her fear of falling and her quick breathing returned. She frowned slightly and looked to Sans in worry.

In his head, Sans felt like he could collapse at any moment, yet the sight of her eyes felt like rejuvenation to his soul, like a painkiller that took all his agony away. He sighed once, and started to fly back to the top of the tree, back to the canopy again.

~~~~~~ 

As soon as he reached the leaf-carpeted patio in the tree, Sans fell to his knees, his headache returning again. At the sight of Sans gripping tightly on his head, Frisk hurried to his side. “Sans, you’re not okay, aren’t you?” She asked him, her voice concerned and slightly stern at the same time.

Sans sighed again. **“I can’t trick you, can I, raven?”** He attempted to joke around until another wave of agony attacked him, cueing him to groan in pain.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, placing her hand on his back.

 **“Got a hell of a headache, if anything-ack!”** He hissed at the cacophony of pain in his head. His body felt like numb and his limbs, exhausted and weak.

Beside him, Frisk was panicking. It was obvious that Sans could not fly back to the apartment for her to grab painkillers or even water for him. She bit her lower lip as she recalled that her autumn jacket was back on the balcony, and with the branch near the balcony broken and gone, there was no way for her to grab it to give Sans more warmth…

Frisk curled her fingers at her mouth as she blew warm air in her hands. Night was approaching; it would get cold really soon. In truth, there was nothing she could do, except to stay beside him and hope that the pain subsides.

Frisk shuffled her way to sit beside the groaning skeleton, her fingers gently touching his ice-cold hands that were massaging his temples. At this, Sans turned to Frisk in surprise, but manage to understand as soon as he saw her eyes, those eyes she had with her unshakable determination.

The human teen held onto Sans’ hands tightly, shifting herself a little close to his body as she leaned on his shoulder, her caring and concerned gaze fixated on his eyes. A blue blush crept onto Sans’ cheeks and when he tried to turn away and hide it from her, she laughed, her giggles making Sans’ heart melt. It was strange, really, how being this close to her would take all of his pain away. Sans turned back to her and held her fingers tightly as well. **“Thanks, raven,”** He managed to whisper softly before his eyelids started to droop. Soon enough, the skeleton was fast asleep in the willow tree.

Meanwhile, Frisk sat beside him, a worried look all over her face. _That’s the second person I’ve seen that isn’t feeling well today…_ She thought to herself.

_First Kelsey in the hospital and now Sans like this… What the heck is going on…_


	15. Chapter 15 - Hope

For the following week, Frisk tried everything she could to help Sans. The day after that incident with his face scars, his headaches seemed to have worsened. It soon became clear that there was something wrong, but Sans wouldn’t tell her about it, no matter how many times Frisk pestered him about it.

 

“Sans, please, if I don’t know what’s wrong, then I can’t help you!” She reasoned with him for the millionth time that Thursday evening. That day, Frisk had firmly instructed him to come inside her house, despite his protests. Now he was sitting on the sofa with a fuzzy blue blanket wrapped around him, holding a mug of hot chocolate.

 

In contrast to Frisk’s obviously worried expression, the skeleton simply chuckled.  **“It’s okay, Raven. I’m fine,”** He reassured her, smiling.  **“My headache’s not as bad as before, so I’m not losing mind, hehe.”** When she did not respond, he reached out to pat on her head lightly.  **“Seriously though, I’m fine, Frisk. Don’t worry so much,”**

 

Although he brought up a good point, she couldn’t help but be anxious. The worst thing someone could be, she thought, was to be a blind eye to their friends. And now that she finally found someone to confide in, the last thing she needed was to screw her chances up. In fact, she was so anxious that she was caught daydreaming about it in class. 

 

“Miss Merte!!” 

 

She blinked twice before breaking out of her trance, standing up in her seat immediately. “Yes, miss!!”

 

Her math teacher, Ms Arinth, had been waving her hands in front of the dazed brunette, hoping to catch her attention. When Frisk responded, she clicked her lips, albeit she didn’t sound sarcastic or stern. “Please pay attention to the lesson, Miss Merte. I understand that you have been doing well for your assignments, but I must warn you that this is a tricky topic. Please listen for how you can solve this question,”

 

Frisk nodded her head quickly before taking her seat again. For once, she was glad that Ms Arinth was an oddly very nice math teacher. For most of her life, she had encountered all sorts of strict teachers who would drill algebraic concepts and problem sums in her head, forcefully. Because of their sharp eyes, Frisk would pay close attention to the class so that she would not be scolded. But Ms Arinth was the first exception; she came off so nice and determined as a teacher that everyone liked her, including those who hated math with a passion. Either way, it seemed like she wasn’t going to be scolded that day.

 

As she resumed her seat and Ms Arinth continued the lesson, Frisk’s mind still wondered, but this time on a different matter. Normally, she does everything she could to avoid any screw-ups in school, since she would always be bullied for it. And yet this time, she absentmindedly (hah, there’s a pun from Sans) let herself daydream in class. It was probably because Kelsea was  _ still _ in the hospital. 

 

At the thought, she shuddered. Yes, she was one of the meanest girls Frisk had ever met, but even so she shouldn’t deserve a punishment that would land her bedridden for so long, should she?

 

At any rate, Frisk wasn’t given a choice on whether she wanted to visit her. That morning, her home room teacher assigned the teenager to stop by the hospital to give Kelsea all her worksheets and assignments for the classes that she missed. Considering that this teacher was, apparently, oblivious to Kelsea’s bullying, Frisk assumed that it was only because her teacher saw her as a more responsible individual than Kelsea’s groupmates. 

 

As the final bell of that day rang, Frisk let out a soft groan. Hopefully, Kelsea wouldn’t be as much of a pain while in the hospital. Or a impatient patient, for that matter.

 

… Great, now she has Sans’s knack of making bad puns. Go figure.

 

~~~~~~

 

“I’m, uh, looking for Kelsea Karol,” She informed the receptionist before receiving the directions to her room. The facility was filled with the sterile scent of medicine, reminding Frisk of that one time she had to visit the dentist and extract a rotten baby tooth that was bugging her. She scrunched up her nose as she recalled that horrid memory.

 

There were nurses strolling back and forth the hallways as Frisk trotted to Kelsey’s room, her next step feeling heavier and smaller than the last.  _ Ugh… I  _ **_really_ ** _ don’t want to see her… Why didn’t Miss just give her notes to one of her ‘Pop Gs’?  _ The teenager thought to herself. 

 

Despite her efforts to slow herself down, Frisk managed to find her feet stationed in front of a white door with the numbers of Kelsea’s room.  _ She has a room to herself? _ This made Frisk deduce two possible reasons. One, she was rich as heck, or two, something was very wrong. Of course, she dismissed the latter.

 

But she stepped in, she wished that she hadn’t done so.

 

The room had the standard, basic white furniture you’d find. Chairs, a sofa and a wooden table on wheels that was to serve as the patient’s table. A vase of fresh white chrysanthemums sat near a window on a bedside table. Someone must have been coming in and out to replenish them, probably the nurses, Frisk thought. Other than the Pop Gs, who were probably of buying more prissy clothes and makeup, Kelsea didn’t have any other friends.

 

But that was not what shocked her. What perplexed her the most was the patient in the bed.

 

There were bandages, everywhere. All over her arms. She was mostly covered by a blanket, up to her chest, but considering how she already almost looked like a mummy, who knew how the rest of her body looked like. Luckily, her face only had one visible injury, a large gauze over her left cheek held by medical tape. Her eyes were closed but the heart monitor indicated that she was still breathing A good thing, Frisk decided.

 

In her hands, she held the brown folder containing Kelsea’s worksheets. Tiptoeing as quietly as a ninja, Frisk placed the folder on the wooden table that was rolled to the side of the bed. She thanked heaven that Kelsea was sleeping, that way she wouldn’t have to deal with her.

 

Of course, she realised as she turned around, she spoke too soon.

 

_ “Well if it isn’t the teacher’s pet of the class…” _

 

Frisk immediately froze at her voice, despite the fact that she sounded hoarse and sick. As she begrudgingly spun around in a horribly slow pace, she found herself staring at Kelsea Karol’s eyes, and that  _ annoying _ smirk on her face.

 

“Fetching work for me, I see?” She remarked slyly, motioning to the folder on the table. “Well whatever, I’m sure you wanted to look like the perfect student by giving me my work, right?”

 

Frisk said nothing. She knew that staying quiet stood her a chance of stepping away silently without Kelsea noticing her, especially if that snarky girl decided to ramble for a while later.

 

“I can’t believe you’re here, of all people they could send to me. Pft, they must really be running out of options to be sending you here,”

 

Frisk tilted her head at her, her face written with the straight, clear message of “what do you mean?”

 

And somehow, Kelsea could understand it. “I mean, you aren’t really the strongest and nicest girl out there, you know,” She explained in a matter-of-fact tone, turning away from her. “I’ve seen other students at school doing things  _ way _ better than you. They’re the ones who decided to spend their lives helping others, but you? You just want attention,”

 

_ That’s it, _ Frisk muttered in her head.  _ Keep talking, you bi-... you. _ Frisk knew this would be a good chance to slip away, after how Kelsea’s words had practically become noise to her ears.

 

“You keep acting like an innocent child, wanting nothing more than a mother’s attention. Don’t you have a mother at home? Is she not pampering you with all the love she has?”

 

Frisk cringed at that.  _ Like you know anything about me _ , Frisk thought to herself, though she silenced her thoughts as she sidestepped towards the door.

 

“So if you have all the attention of the world, why don’t you just leave this school alone? We don’t need pricks who steal away the assistance that other students weaker than you need,”

 

_ … Shut up. _ Frisk muttered in her head.  **_Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up…_ **

 

“Heck, I don’t think someone as strange, demented and crazy as you could have any good friends,”

 

**_SNAP._ **

 

“Well, maybe that’s just it,” She replied blankly.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Kelsea, maybe I am strange,” Frisk admitted. “Maybe I am a teacher’s pet who loves all the attention and doesn’t give a crap about the other students.” She ranted as she wandered around, waving her hands about for emphasis and her back facing the bed. “Maybe I am heartless, maybe I am a dumbass, maybe I’m everything you ever say,” 

 

**“But honestly, I don’t care what you have to say about me anymore,”**

 

“This bullying against me, honestly, I’m tired of it,” She proclaimed, turning to face the patient, a determined look in her eyes. “Can we just let bygones be bygones? I don’t even know why you hate me so much, did I ever do anything wrong to you?”

 

“Well-”

 

“I’m not done yet,” Frisk cut her off. Her words didn’t stop as they flowed out of her mouth like rushing water, her tone getting angrier and angrier. “Even if you do hate me so much, do you really think that bullying me is going to help you? You think it’s going to help you feel better? And it’s not just me, isn’t it? Do you have any idea how much you’re hurting others? How much I’ve been having nightmares about you tormenting me everyday? How much Stella has been quivering in fear under your control?”

 

Kelsea could do nothing but freeze without a word to reply as Frisk continued. Her emotions started to leak into her words, all that pent up frustration she had over the years were finally being brought to light. “Honestly, I don’t get it! Every time a teacher points out your mistake and your misdeeds, you just cover it up like an innocent child. And you do it with that naive, childlike face, like you did nothing wrong. Well GUESS WHAT! I think otherwise, and I’m NOT going to give up until I have the evidence to get you  **expelled and out of this school** ! No one deserves your bullshit and I CANNOT tolerate it any longer!!”

 

Silence.

 

You could hear a pin drop in the room as Frisk stood there, clenching her fists, while Kelsea sat in bed, her eyes widened and her mouth agape.

 

… … … 

 

A few minutes passed before Frisk sighed and simply turned her back on the patient on the bed. “Whatever I just said,” She started, her voice hard as steel. “Think about it, won’t you?”

 

And as she took big steps to the door, something close to a miracle happened.

 

“Hey, Frisk…”

 

She turned around in shock, baffled at that soft but audible sound. Kelsea had never called her by name before, this was definitely new. Still, she tried her best to keep her bewilderment to a minimum. “Yeah?”

 

“I… ” The patient hesitated, before speaking again, her voice lowering to a mutter.

 

**“Thanks. For the papers, I mean.”**

 

Deep down her heart, Frisk was beyond shocked even though her physical face had a small, barely noticeable smile. “You’re welcomed,” She replied.

 

“Also,” She raised her voice a little, hoping that the girl at the door wouldn’t leave. “I’m sorry, for everything, Frisk. Maybe…” Kelsea turned her head to the floor for a moment, as if she was choosing her words very carefully.

 

Or not. An awkward silence filled the room for a short second before Frisk exited without another word.

 

Outside the wooden door, the brunette took in a few deep breaths, calming herself down from her emotional ramble. Was it right for her to tell her all those things? Maybe it was a bad idea, she thought, since that girl wouldn’t leave her alone all this time.

 

Still, Frisk wasn’t going to swoop herself down to a bully’s level. Before she walked away, she whispered softly to the door. It took a lot of guts, and even though she was still steaming, she did it anyway.

 

**“I forgive you, Kelsea.”**

 

… 

 

Yes, she was a bully.

 

Yes, she had been mean to her.

 

Yes, it makes sense if Frisk hated her for the rest of her life.

 

But somehow, in some weird, miraculous way, the both of them were thinking the same thing.

 

If they gave the other a chance, perhaps things could get better.

 

If they had enough hope, perhaps it could happen.

 

~~~~~~

 

At the window of the hospital bed, a black bird watched as Frisk left the room. Its midnight eyes were narrowed at the patient on the bed.

 

**“You'd better not hurt her EVER again,”** It spoke in its head.  **“Or I will KILL YOU.”**

  
  
  



End file.
